Longing for Life
by ShatteredHeart98
Summary: With life spiraling out of control, Rachael is handed the miracle gift to escape reality and wake in her favourite fantasy, but is it really a release? With a dangerous pair hunting her down, she begins to realise the terrifying truth of who she is.
1. Welcome to Spira

**Longing for Life**

**Chapter One:Welcome to Spira**

Have you ever felt like everything is falling apart around you? The towers that you have built in your life crumble in a never ending war. Relationships end, joys begin to fade, and you find yourself hearing truths that you would rather be lies.

I sat at the edge of my bed and stared at the floor as wet spots appeared with tiny thumps. My tears continued to fall, running thickly down my cheeks. I had been here too many times before, but I was still cautious. No one was home, so I could cry freely, and my cat was lying there in a ball, my own little cuddly comfort friend.

I had no one else. My best friend, also the love of my life, had given up on me and decided that I no longer meant anything. To them I was no more than a stain on the ground, and it killed me to look back on our past and know that this was it. I had fallen in love with her, but she did not share the feeling, and I had pushed her to the limit.

My name is Rachael, and I know what you are thinking. Yes, I am bisexual, yes, I fell for my best friend, yes… I loath life.

I turned to stare at the mirror that stretched across the right side of my room. My reflection was pathetic: A pale tear streaked face with red puffy eyes, messy short brown and blonde hair falling around my face, and as I stood and studied my stomach I realised that I looked less round that usual. My lack of food had taken a toll I did not even aim for. As a tomboy that sort of thing doesn't usually bother me, but when nothing is going right it is like another kick in the guts.

With a frustrated slump I sat back on the bed and dug my nails into my leg. I needed the pain to know that this was still real, that all of this was really happening and I was not in a nightmare…

"I need a distraction," I said loudly to snap myself out of things. My PSP was not going to be enough simply because I was lacking in games that I was not sick of, but the Playstation 2 was always a winner.

If my parents had caught me unpacking the machine when it has been taken away some months ago, awaiting an eager buyer in the cupboard, they would have my head, but at the moment I was more worried about escaping this world and entering…

"Final Fantasy X-2," I read aloud, studying the cover. I had beaten this game twice before, and it was still one of my favourites. I loved the characters, the worlds, the gameplay, but most of all I loved the thoughts of actually being there beside the Gullwings and fighting it out somewhere things are different from here, and somewhere with loyal friends and time to yourself.

I slipped the disc into the machine and let it run. The controller felt odd in my hands. It had been so long. It was coated in a thin layer of dust that I blew off. As soon as the air left my lungs my heart skipped beats and I wheezed a little. I had not technically been diagnosed with Anaemia, but the chances of me having it were large. The symptoms were spot on, for I had irregular heart beats, difficulty breathing sometimes, blackouts, and fatigue.

The beginning sequences of the game felt like I was reliving the past. It was an odd emotion, but I was calming down nonetheless, even smiling as my favourite characters entered. There was the wild Rikku dancing along to Yuna's song, and the former summoner herself ripping it up on the dance floor. My grin stretched to its limit as I saw Paine, the stone hearted warrior, standing in the seat isle before taking out a suspicious guard.

This was a good way to forget about things, so I played for hours. As the time passed I found myself growing tired. Blaming it on the large screen I had not stared into for some time, I decided it would be best to pack it up and go back to it later if the need arose.

I felt unwilling as I stopped the game and pulled it from the machine, thinking that perhaps I would not get the chance to play it again, but I was grateful for the fated hours I had been given and I trudged back to my room.

As soon as I reached the doorway, my fatigue reminded me of its urgency with a lurching tilt of the world. My head spun so fast I slipped to my knees and bowed down against the floor, waiting for the odd fainting spell to pass, and it did with all it glory. I vomited all over my floor for five minutes before my stomach seemed to be empty of everything it had taken in over the week.

"Damn it," I sighed as I pushed myself shakily from the floor. Cold sweat had formed on my forehead and I trembled from head to toe, but my legs managed to get me to the side of my bed where I sat and tried to balance my confused and aching head.

I knew that I needed to sleep, so I lay atop the covers and closed my eyes, willing for that darkness to come. It took some time as my mind struggled to understand exactly what had brought on the dizziness and vomiting, but it could reach no ideas at all.

"Do we have her?"

I sat up quickly in my bed, my eyes racing around to try and spot the source of the voice. It had been as sudden as my sleep which I realised had only been for ten minutes according to my clock, so it was all in a dream.

Relaxing again at this knowledge, I lay back again and began to close my eyes… only to hear more muttering and another question of the same female tone.

"How close is she? We don't have much time."

Another voice joined. "She is fighting against us."

"Well break into her if you have to! We need her one hundred percent!" The woman was shrill now, though she had never really sounded friendly.

"Sister, you know that this could kill her…"

"We will manage this!"

"But…"

I awoke with a start and stared around again. The dream had continued and again seemed so real. Now I was too afraid to close my eyes again, but I could not control myself. The lids began to slide down and I began to sink back…

"We almost have her! It's working my brother, it is working!"

I could see things now. There were bright light bulbs above me, but they were moving slowly, this way and that like leaves in the wind.

"I don't know the state she is in. She may not last long."

The woman hissed. "Don't be so negative!"

"How can I not be? We have gone against everything we have been taught, summoning a human from another world when we are supposed to be learning of the Aeons! What will our teachers think?"

There were faces coming into view. The woman had tanned skin with black hair covering her eyes. She wore a scarf around the bottom half of her face just beneath the nose that wound down around her chest. Her clothes were light brown rags with a number of sashes stretching across from hip to shoulder, each entwining with the other.

The brother of this strict woman looked to be around the same age, somewhere in the teens. He had the same black hair, only it was cut short to curve around his ears and shape around his face neatly. His clothes were the same, only with two simple sashes that were buckled in the centre.

"See, she is fine. Her eyes are opening," the woman explained.

"That does not mean that she is not near death, Marelle."

Marelle slapped her brother crossly in the mouth with lightning speed. "Do not mention our names! If things get out of hand, she will find us easily!"

"Now who is looking at the bad!" her brother retaliated. "You see how dangerous this is now?"

Marelle did not reply this time. Instead, she leaned close to me, her face becoming fully visible now. She had line of freckles across her cheeks from the sun and her eyes were a sparkling green. She was quiet pretty with soft features that did not suit her personality, but as sshe spoke her voice held the edge that frightened me.

"Hello there. How are you feeling?"

I tried to speak. There was a large number of questions in my mind begging to be answered, but my voice would not come to me. I simply choked out a cought and stared with half closed eyes at this strange Marelle girl.

Her brother was much kinder as he pushed himself into my fading sight. "Do not be worried, friend. We are here to help you."

That look in his eyes spelled out the lie for me. They were not here to help me, I knew this, but he seemed concerned for me.

"Would you like to sit up?" he asked, and I saw Marelle stare at him as though he had lost his mind.

I nodded as best I could without losing consciousness, and he propped me up gently. His hand was strong as he held me up and supported me from falling, and as my eyes scanned the surroundings I could hear him whisper to Marelle that I was shaking.

We were in a desert with ruins lying in the sand all around us. Waves of the yellow sea were brought crashing around us on the wind and many giant birds with smoking feathers flew by above us.

"Zu…" I gasped, naming the bird. They had appeared in Final Fantasy X-2, and now I was realising.

"That's right," Marelle said with a forced smile. "Do you know what that means."

I did not want to utter the words, but my pale face seemed to be enough.

"That's right," the brother said with the same kindness he always brought into his voice. "Welcome to Bikanel Desert… Welcome to Spira."

I fainted in his arms without another glance at the impossible world.

"I told you, didn't I? It wasn't safe to do this!"

"She's breathing isn't she? What more do you want? How did you expect her to act?"

"You should not have brought her here!"

"It was your idea as much as mine!"

"I only came along because I knew you would get yourself into trouble!"

"And you joined me."

"I wanted to stop you, not help you, but I…"

"You were curious."

"Well…"

I listened to them argue with my eyes still closed. I was awake now, but had to desire to stare at a world that was not real with a pair of complete strangers who were going at it all of the time for reasons that involved me that I did not understand in the least.

Marelle seemed to think that the brother was just as bad as her, doing whatever they were that sounded like bringing me to this world from my own. He defended himself as well as he could or dared, but when she had said he was curious, he could not bring himself to deny.

I opened my eyes as rage speared through me. It was my turn to yell and scream, because I wanted answers that I was sure they would not give me.

I had been carried into a tent which was really no more than a rag pulled over a few columns of corroded stone that had once been something amazing. The rag was thick and covered the gaps at the top, leaving dull shadows over me. The sunlight blared through some moth-eaten holes in the material and burned my eyes, forcing my head down quickly and reviving the earlier headache. It was intense like a club hitting the back of my skull and I cried out.

A moment later Marelle and her brother appeared beside me and kneeled down to hold me still as I swayed on the spot.

Once I was lying back down again the brother began to speak.

"You need to take It easy. You have been on a long journey and your body may have been damaged."

"Damaged?" I mirrored.

"Yeah," Marelle but in. "We aren't sure yet, but I wouldn't worry if I were you. You seem fine."

"She almost passed out! I don't think…" It seemed the young man wanted to say more, but the argument on the horizon was not tempting to him, so he silenced and change dthe subject. "If you are up to it, I believe we can spare the information you want."

They had pulled me from my world, that was true and obvious. Apparently upon playing the game they located me and pulled me into the desert using the techniques of summoning they had been forced to study. They were monks in a clan called the Seeking Stars, a league of many who studies the old summoning arts, and anything involving other worlds and anything other than Aeons was forbidden.

Marelle lowered her head as she realised that it was her turn to state her sin. "So I needed to get someone from your world, someone with amazing powers to save this world, and that someone turned out to be you."

I had found my voice by this point, and asked immediately, "Why?"

The brother answered this question. "One of the Seeking Stars sons can see the Aeons in his dreams by locating their power left behind form those years past, but lately he has seen you from the power signature you leave behind in your world. It is so strong he felt it here, and my sister here decided to go against the teachings we are asked kindly to stick to and discover what it is you possess."

Marelle was frustrated wither brother and stood his the hem of his shirt twisted in her fist. "What are you doing telling her everything?"

"It's not like she will escape, Marelle!"

"I know, but what if someone finds her here, like the Machine Faction al-bhed that scour ruins like this? She will tell them or our entire plan!"

"But she won't be found." This time the bother sounded as creepy as his sister, and a sinister smile spread across his face. "We are far from anyone here. She has no chance of escape and no chance of being found, and besides, now that she knows everything she can understand that we will not harm her for there is no reason to."

Something in Marelle's eyes told me otherwise. If they thought I was going to trust them, they had another thing coming. I pretended I was not afraid and that I believe things were not that serious like the brother had said, but I knew that there was something about this power they were not telling me about that put me in danger.

I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep and a few moments later I herad the pair shuffling off to argue about what had been said. It got quiet angry and I had to fight to stay awake until it was loud enough for my certainty, and then I ran.

Sliding along the sand with your body pressed to the stinging sands is a painful thing, but it kept me out of sight. I managed to slip around one of the runous rock towers, then as I peered around too see rising cliffs of sand, I found a sharp hill that looked possible to run along. If I was fast enough I could make it, then hopefully I could disappear from the pair in the swirling sands.

As I broke for the hill I could still hear them yelling. It was thick with interruptions and insults, but as soon as It broke off abruptly I knew that my absence had been spotted.

"Where is she?" Marelle screamed.

"There!"

I put all of the energy I had left into my legs and I sprinted up the hill, stumbling and slipping. The sands burned and I cried out as my aching muscles cried out, but I needed to get to the top. Going down would be easy, and from there I was confident with my running skills.

"Hey, get back here! We aren't going to hurt you!" Even though he had been kind before, the boy no longer sounded like a friend. He was a good actor, that was for sure, and his concern for me was clearly mistaken for concern of being caught.

I had reached the top of the hill and launched myself over the edge. My feet barely even touched the sand. Instead my back scraped down, my head slamming into the wall at some points. Above me someone joined the dangerous slide, flinging up sand as they went. I was shocked at the speed of whomever it was and as I tumbled backwards I saw a flash of long black hair and realised it was Marelle.

With a jarring thud I landed on my shoulder in the brick hard sand below. I cried out in pain, realising that I had wither dislocated it or perhaps broken it. Every part of it felt as though it had been split in half, throbbing and burning like crazy, but I could not stop. I pulled myself to me feet, my heart racing with the fear of being caught.

I felt like this was a nightmare, the sort where you are running from enemies you know you cannot escape. There is no thrill, no adrenaline, only raw fear that keeps you running like a hunter animal.

Then I was alone. I had been speeding along the sand for quiet some time now, longer than I had realised, and as I risked a peering glance over my shoulder I realised that the pair were gone, shielded by a storm of raging wind carrying the spiralling sand along.

I bent over and started breathing slowly to slow my heart, but it beat uncontrollably and I felt a blackout coming on. With a shuddering cry I fell to my knees and came to the realisation that I was in the middle of a fantasy desert made real with a pair of psychopaths hunting me, and in moments I would either be unconscious or unable to stand on my own.

"Welcome to Spira alright," I grumbled as I closed my eyes and let the tears of fear and pain fall freely. I would be found, but I had no other option. My energy had depleted almost completely, and thinking about the terrifying situation only seemed to make it worse.


	2. Burning Winds

**Chapter Two: Burning Winds**

"Ahhhhh!!" I screamed to the heavens again. No longer did I cry for help, for no longer did I believe that any would come. My enemies were far behind now, the psychopathic siblings, but that did not stop me from looking over my shoulder every few metres, nor did it keep my mind off of the constant wondering. What was it they wanted from me? They said that I possessed some power that could save the world, but the way they looked at me with hungry eyes told me that the truth was a little different.

Minutes were hours out here, each trailing by so slowly that it I wondered how long it would take for my body to shut down completely. Already I longed for water and food, shade and protection… but all that lay before me were more miles of sand, rising and falling in gentle hills and clawing up into towering cliffs.

I was struck with an ironic thought as my feet dragged through the sea of sand. I had wanted more than anything to get out of my world, and now that I was, I wanted nothing more than to be back in my bedroom to face the agony of normal life again.

Desperately I began to scream for help again. My voice rose into the air and was carried away by the wind. My throat ached as I reached the last decibel it could manage, then every muscle in my body loosened and seemed to disappear. I crumpled to the ground and lay in a ball in the sand, unable to even roll onto my back so I could take a breath.

_So this is how it ends, _I thought, my eyes screwed shut in the grainy sand that built up around my face. I would suffocate in this desert and rot into a skeleton with bones to pick for the fiends.

I realised then that no fiends had come for me yet, and that little positive gave me the strength, or perhaps the fear, to claw myself out of the sand and take in some air.

"Alright," I stammered as I remained on my knees and stared at the desert floor. "I am alive, and stuck in the middle of the desert… What do you do when you are in a situation like this?"

As though expecting an answer I stared around, but of course there were no other living creatures about apart from me. I was utterly alone, one thing that I was not in the real world. I longed for it again, missing the pain that I could at least handle with my family, but now I had no one. I would die here and they would not even be able to bury me back home. They would all get home soon and realise that I was gone. Perhaps they would pull the pieces together when they saw the game out, but then again… this was a ludicrous thing.

My head was spinning more severely than before as though the winds around me had entered into my mind. My body felt weighed down and I leaned forward, my fringe brushing the sand as I tried to stay conscious. What do you do when your about to faint? It had happened before, and I had still not learned what could stop it or at least slow it down. It was useless anyway. Before I could do a thing more I collapsed completely in the same spot as before, only this time blackness cloaked me and I was lost from the world.

*****

"Are you alright?"

A pair of hands flipped me over onto my back. I could feel them vaguely and wanted to pull away, thinking it was perhaps the brother acting nice again.

"She's unconscious."

It was a different voice this time, but I realised I had heard both before, but from where? Was it the brother and sister? Surely not. I did not remember either having such a low tone.

"Are you sure she's not…"

That voice was high, almost childish, and strained with worry. I begged my eyes to open, but the lids would not lift.

"Check for yourself," the lowest voice said. It was a female, that was for sure. In fact, the three that I had heard were definitely girls, and as that fact began to sink in I started to realise who it was.

A pair of fingers pressed against my neck and upon locating a pulse the high pitched girl sighed with relief. "Your right Dr P, she's alive!"

'Dr P?' Paine of the Gullwings, so the worried one was Rikku, and the first voice was none other than the star herself, Yuna.

This time my eyes did open. They were three blurry figures, Paine a dark clad warrior, Rikku a bright barely dressed thief, and Yuna the beautiful teen peering closely at me with a smile on her face. "Hey there. Are you feeling okay?"

I tried to answer her, but like usual after returning to consciousness, my voice was lost. I could not even nod my head. All I could so was slid a hand slowly across the sand, but that was all my body permitted.

"She needs water," Paine explained.

Rikku started digging in the sack at her side and pulled out a thin white bottle. My lhead was lifted by Yuna as Rikku pressed the bottle to my lips and I drank as much of the liquid as I could manage without choking, for my throat was still weak from the screaming. It ran down in a cool stream, taking much of the heat from me and leaving me feeling much better than before. No longer did my mouth beg for liquid and my throat burn for its cold touch, but there was so much more damage. I was fatigued enough to faint again then and there.

My head was laid down gently in the sand again and the bottle was pulled away as I licked my lips of the last few drops.

"Brother, it's Yuna. We need you to pick us up now," the former summoner demanded gently into the Celsius receiver.

"Why? What has happened? Are you alright, Yuna?"

The voice of Brother sounded more worried than it did in the game when he was terrified for Yuna's safety. It brought an amused smile to my face, but it was only a flicker for it cost me more energy that I did not have to spare.

Yuna rolled her eyes a little and spoke again. "I'm fine, but we've found a girl and she needs to get out of this desert ASAP. Can you pick us up?"

"What?! Another girl? How can you expect me to trust someone on my ship who I don't even know? I can't-"

"Brother, let her on the ship or she's going to die!" Rikku screamed, her voice loud enough to get into the receiver with enough impact to rattle Brother and change his mind.

"Alllllrriiiggghht!!" He cried back. "I'll be there in a minute!!"

Static ended the conversation, and I fell away with it.

"Ready to lift her?"

"Ready when you are."

"Okay, and… up!"

"Ouch!"

"What is it Yuna?"

"I… I think I just broke a nail."

Paine laughed as Yuna and herself held me above the sand. It was an odd feeling, like I was floating in the air and I wished they would hurry and get me to wherever they were planning.

"Come one, hurry!" I could hear Rikku directing them as they began to carry me along. I felt nauseous as my head bobbed up and down. Paine clutched me beneath my shoulders as Yuna pulled me along by my feet and in a way it felt like I was being stretched.

"I'll take her up the stairs," Paine said, and I was rotated so I was horizontal and lying in Paine's arms.

"Can you manage it?" Yuna asked, and I felt a sting at my self esteem.

"Yeah," Paine answered simply, and her boots clapped along the stars.

A door was opened, and Brother's voice rang in my ears. "I am the leader! No one speaks to me like you did Rikku! No one!"

"Shit up and move it!" the young thief retaliated, and I opened my eyes a crack to see her slam her brother into the wall and clear the way.

One of Paine's hands clutched my shoulder and I noticed that the same black glove I had seen her always wearing in the game was right before me. I could had touched it if I had the strength in my arm, but it simply twitched an inch and fell loosely again.

"Hold on," she said quietly to me as she realised I was partly awake. I stared up into her trade mark crimson eyes and almost cried as I realised this was real, she was real, and this life was real, as far as I was concerned.

"Barkeep, we need some ice and cold water, and by cold I mean freezing!"

I awoke to Rikku's voice without even realising that my body had given in to fatigue again. I was still being carried by Paine, but Yuna was close by. Her eyes glanced over at mine every few moments, and each time she smiled. It filled me with such encouragement that I finally understood the leadership she held that I had always seen in the game. She filled me with hope, a feeling that I had been lacking for a very long time.

The elevator doors opened, a sound I knew too well. Footsteps raced towards us and I could hear Buddy beginning to question Yuna. Her eyes scarsly left me as she answered hurriedly, telling him that I had been in and out of consciousness and estimated how long I had been in the desert.

"Can she speak?" Buddy asked as he glanced down at me. Again an animated character had come to life before me. It was a living breathing Buddy!

"Get her on the bed!" Rikku instructed, her hands shaking around like they did in the game as she panicked. Her eyes darted to mine as I passed and I tried to smile to calm her down, but there was no way she could be calmed at all.

"Rikku, she isn't about to die," Paine explained as she laid me gently onto the bed. It was a surprising gentleness that I had not expected from the great warrior, but it was greatly appreciated.

I closed my eyes as my head sunk into the soft pillow, but my skin still burned and my head swirled. I needed more water, and as though reading my mind a glass of water was pressed to my lips. I drank around the ice, then as I drained the liquid I scooped some of the ice into my mouth with my tongue and chewed on it to try and call down a little more.

Cool, wet rags were laid upon my skin to try and lower my temperature and I was constantly staring into the worried eyes of Rikku and Yuna. It seemed Buddy and Paine were doing al of the work.

"Is she awake?" some asked. Their voice was distorted as I started to fall asleep, this time my body wanting to heal instead of suffering from the fatigue.

_Not anymore, _I thought as I closed my eyes from the unbelievable world.


	3. My Story

**Chapter Three: My Story**

Everything was a shaking blur as my body decided it was time to wake again. Above me was the vast ceiling of the Celsius, that was obvious from the Gullwings signature painted in vibrant reds and yellows. It came into focus as I blinked a few times, but my head did not seem ready. It was still heavy and wanted to remain still, but there was a quiet voice to my left and I turned to face it.

"How are you feeling?"

Yuna sat on the edge of the bed beside me and I could see Rikku's blonde braided hair spilling over the pillow as she snored quietly in the same bed the gunner sat on.

I smiled. "Better."

"From my right came the sound of footsteps clomping up the stairs, then another voice joined the conversation that had begun.

"So you've finally returned to the real world."

I knew it was a figure of speech, but I could not help but snort as Paine named this 'the real world,' but then again, to them it was.

"Rikku will be disappointed," she added as she sat down on the bed on the right of my own. "She hasn't left your side since you passed out again, waiting to corner you with questions I suppose, but she was tired from our little desert expedition and went to sleep."

"I don't know why anyone would want to talk to me so badly," I said, always taking the opportunity to insult myself.

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked, her eyes filling with fear for a moment.

I realised I had made myself seem untrustworthy, so I quickly covered up my words. "Sorry, I just don't think I'm a very interesting person. Obviously I'm not too great seeing as…" I was returning to the subject of my former best friend and my eyes filled with tears.

"Want to talk about it?" Paine asked.

"Not really," I choked out. "You don't need to worry about me though. I don't even know how I got here or anything, but I won't cause you any trouble. I just… don't know where to go from here."

"Well until you're well again you're stuck on this ship," Yuna said with such authority I did not dare question her.

"So where are you from, if you say you don't know how you got here?" Paine asked. It was clear she was trying not to put pressure on me for she laid back on her hands and looked casual, but I knew she was making sure I was not a complete psycho.

"Well…" I paused, unsure of whether I should tell them about my world, Earth. Better let them think I had amnesia for now, so I pretended I could not remember.

"Do you remember anything?" Yuna asked. "Do you remember your name at least?"

"Rachael. My name is Rachael, I'm seventeen, my favourite colour is red, I love the band Within Temptation…"

"Within Temp-what?" Yuna asked, struggling to understand the name.

I laughed a little. "It's a band I listen to from where I used to come from. I remember that, but not much more."

I seemed to have caught Paine's suspicion, for she dove on the information like a hawk sighting food. "So you don't remember where you are from, but you remember what you did there?"

I swallowed as I began to get nervous. "Well, yeah, but it's blurry and-"

"Paine, calm down," Yuna said, smiling at me a little. "If she isn't ready, she isn't ready."

I was so relieved that I almost got up and hugged the girl. Paine was scarier than she was in the game and I did not like her staring at me like I was a liar.

"Fine," the warrior mumbled. "But tomorrow I expect to know who you are… You should probably get some more rest. You were in the sun for a long time out there."

I nodded, glad she was being friendlier than she had been a moment later, and I bid the girls I barely knew goodnight.

Paine mumbled 'night' back, and Yuna smiled and said it sweetly before she lay on her back beside her cousin, but I knew neither slept. They were keeping an eye on me, and I did not blame them, however sleep did not come to me either until the early hours of the morning when the sun began to rise.

Everything was like normal when I opened my eyes that morning. My mouth felt dry from the period of time I had not drunk during sleep, just like always, my hair was a spiked out mess, just like always – everything was the same, and for a heart wrenching moment I thought I was back at home, having to face another day of aching pains as 'she' passed by me with hatred in her eyes.

My head dragged along the surface of the pillow and pulled itself out to look at the poster of a pair of tigers behind my bed, but instead I faced a gaping window showing the blue sky flooded with darkening clouds.

I was not at home, I realised. I was still here in the video game, and I remember that I had fears the night before that if I went to sleep I would awake in my home again, but I still remained in this extremely comfortable bed with the sun shining down on me and flooding everything with light around me. I knew now that I wanted to be here with these girls instead of back in my life, despite my rather dreadful beginning.

The other two beds were no longer occupied, and I realised that as I remembered the game scenes when the girls would be at their beds, Yuna was always at the one I laid in now. It was kind of her to let me rest in her bed, and as I thought of the gesture I could hear her voice below in the bar area.

"Paine, I don't think she is going to attack us or anything. She seems… nice."

"She was delirious and barely conscious in Bikanel Desert when we found her, and last night she made herself sound like someone completely unreliable by hiding the truth about herself," Paine countered.

The warrior's words stung me and I sunk deeper into the covers. _Damn, my own favourite character hates me._

"Don't be such a meanie Dr P!" Rikku defended in her high voice. "We don't know what happened to her. She could have had a really bad past, just like-"

"Me?" Paine finished for her in a surprisingly calm voice, but it was not a good sign. I waited with baited breath to hear what would happen, and I heard a chair screech across the floor and those loud clapping boots stalking across the room to the elevator. The door slid open then shut in an instant and Yuna and Rikku were silent.

I decided it was time to show my face to them, so I stepped down the stairs and watched their faces as they turned to me with fragile smiles.

"Rikku, Yuna, thanks for trying to defend me, but… Paine has a right to wonder at my honesty. You barely know me or anything."

Rikku stood and wandered over to me where she embraced me lightly. "Well whatever you have to say, I'll believe it, okay?"

Yuna nodded from behind her in agreement, and I felt so lucky at that moment that I almost cried.

"Alright," I said as I allowed Rikku to release me from the hug. "Let's go and find Paine and I can get this story out."

As I had expected, Paine was on the deck of the Celsius, her short hair caught in the wind as she stared towards the skies above. She knew of our approach before we even made a sound and whipped her head around. Her eyes bored straight into mine for a moment, and then she turned away and took a few steps further from us.

Rikku sighed and said, "Wait here," then hurried towards the warrior. It struck me as an odd plan for the youngster to try and get Paine to hear me out seeing as the dark clad woman was always infuriated with her, but it seemed to work for the woman uncrossed her arms, gave an annoyed sigh, then turned to face me.

"Well? Let's hear your story."

I smiled a thank you to Rikku and tried to think of the best way to explain the unbelievable. Having no ideas, I played it by heart.

"Look, this is all going to sound insane, but I swear from the bottom depths of my heart that it is all completely true."

Rikku already looked excited.

I continued despite her sparkling eyes staring at me.

"You have to understand that I am from a world very different from this one. You live here in Spira, and I live in… Earth."

"Earth?" Yuna echoed in puzzlement.

"What's so amazingly hard to get about that?" Paine asked as she crossed her arms across her chest. "It's no secret that there are other worlds out there apart from this one that we don't really know much about at all."

It had been easier than I had expected, for never in the game had they mentioned having that sort of knowledge, but I shrugged and started describing Earth to them. Their faces portrayed many emotions, including Paine's often expressionless one, and as the new information sunk into their minds they began to understand what a dangerous and disturbing world it was.

"It sounds so advanced, but… is that really a good thing?" Yuna asked, not aiming the question at anyone in particular.

"It doesn't sound like it," Paine muttered, giving me a long hard look.

Rikku was a little pale and was sitting on the deck of the ship. "I don't like this Earth place. No offence Rachael."

"Yeah, but it has its 'ups,'" I tried to explain. "And by the way, you can call me Rach. It's a common nickname in my world."

They nodded simply and waited for me to continue. They wanted to hear my story and how I had come here, so I told them all of it. How issues never became solved in my head, how I hated my world and many people in it, how I loved to read and write and play the video games they were so intrigued by, then I told them of the darker parts until we came to her.

I struggled to contain the tears as I told them of the betrayal that had been from my selfishness and unhappiness, and I tried to get them to understand that it was more than an aching pain. It was like living in hell. I was not surprised to see that Yuna understood the best, Paine could relate to my rage and agony, and Rikku… had no idea.

"So what happened that got you all the way down here?" the thief asked as she laid back carelessly, seeming to trust me completely now. In fact, they all seemed more relaxed around me, taking a seat on the deck and even shifting a little closer with their hands no longer tensing and their eyes prying less.

"I was at home trying to distract myself from 'her.' Playing video games always helps, so I started playing one of my favourite games, Final Fantasy X-2, (they were completely intrigued but clueless as to what it actually was), and then I fell asleep and had a dream of these two people. They were brother and sister, the girl named Marelle, but I had no idea of the boy's name. I awoke and found myself there in Bikanel Desert with the pair staring down at me, discussing whether I was going to live or not. It turned out they needed some power I have, and I freaked out and ran. Eventually I lost them, and then you found me."

There were a few silent moments as the three Gullwings struggled to get the story to settle in their minds. I waited with my hands clasped together in my lap, hoping they would believe me, but I hoped even more that they were not friends of this strange pair and plan to turn me over to them.

"Alright," Paine said after a few moments of staring into my eyes as though trying to decipher my thoughts. "I don't think you a liar, first of all. I've met plenty in my years and your story checks out. We saw a pair searching in the desert with the Celsius radar after we got you in the ship, but how do I know you aren't really on their side? What if you're stalling as the weirdo siblings plan to attack us?"

Yuna gave her a short glare and I was a little taken aback myself. "I-well, I guess you'll just have to trust me. I don't know how to prove it unless we find them."

"Then we will!" Rikku said with delight, jumping to her feet. "I believe you one hundred percent! It looks like we have a new adventure, girls!"

Yuna agreed and looked just as overjoyed, but Paine still did not know what to think of me. I could see it in her calculating eyes as she watched my every move, and as I tried to say something to her, she was on her feet and walking back into the heart of the Celsius with her back to me.


	4. Awakening

**Chapter Four: Awakening**

Being in a world so different from your own and actually trying to come to terms with the fact that seems so like fiction is a very difficult thing. I would have said it was impossible before this had happened, but no longer was I sure as I stood on the bridge of the Celsius and spoke to the boys of the ship. They too wished to know who I was, and Brother shared the same unsatisfied looks like Paine and did not seem to trust me at all, however unlike her, he yelled 'liar' to my face and spat at my feet.

My position on the ship was up to him, and Buddy could see that I wanted to stay here badly, so he spoke to Brother and I explored the ship as I waited for the decision.

_So I have Yuna, Rikku, Shinra, and Buddy on my side," _I thought to myself. _Paine doesn't believe me at all, and Brother hates my guts… I had better start packing._

"Hey, are you alright?" Yuna stepped up to my side as sat some distance away from the humming engine of the ship.

"I guess so. I just don't want to be thrown off this ship, that's all," I muttered sadly.

"I heard what happened," she explained as she sat down beside me. "Don't worry though. Paine will come around. She always does."

"And Brother?"

"Buddy is good at convincing people to do things. He should have no problems with his own best friend."

It was amazing how much that word stung my heart, but thankfully she changed the subject.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked.

I shrugged tiredly. "No where else to go. Paine is on the deck again, Rikku is singing up a rather frightening storm with Barkeep, Brother is on the bridge, but this place is nice and calm."

Yuna nodded and closed her eyes as she relaxed. "I know what it feels like to need a place to be alone. I also know what it is like to lose someone you love dearly."

I had longed to speak to her about my own lost love, but I had feared to re-open her wounds, but fortunately she entered that zone herself and though I could see her eyes tighten with pain, she bit it back and put on her usual warm smile.

"Does it get any easier?"

She paused for a second before answering this time. "It takes a long time, and it is hard to stop thinking about them and hurting more, but yes, eventually it begins to numb."

"I hope that time comes soon…"

The gunner gave me a comforting pat on the back. "It will, and I am always here to talk to if it gets too tough. Like I said, I know what it feels like."

"Thank you, Yuna," I said gratefully, and I began to see a light that, for the first time, was bright and lit the edges of the darkness that plagued me.

As soon as his fist hit my face I was thrown into shock. I hit the ground without feeling a thing and glared up at Brother as he glared down at me.

"I am the leader! How dare you lie to my face!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Rikku screamed as she and Buddy tried to hold him back. His eyes were full of rage and hate and I shuffled back along the floor until a pair of hands caught my arm and hauled me to my feet.

"Come with me," Paine said as she pulled me along, still clutching my arm as though expecting me to run back to Brother and give him a bleeding lip, but instead I found myself in tears.

Paine led me into the elevator, and as soon as the doors shut she pressed one of the buttons and it remained stationary with the doors firmly locked.

I stared at the ground with tears coming down my face. It had only been an hour since I had been sitting with Yuna and finally feeling hope, and the next minute Brother had attacked me as I entered the bridge to get my answer. Now I stood before the warrior who did not believe I was not part of some big conspiracy.

To my surprise, she bent down a little and pressed her gloved thumb to my bleeding lip. "He's split it pretty well. You might want to get Yuna to check it out."

"I-I don't understand why he did it…" I mumbled, my voice trembling.

Paine sighed and shook her head in disgust. "It's because Yuna has taken such a friendly light towards you. She was never like that when she first met him."

"But that's so… childish."

"That's him," she said simply. "He is still pissed because he doesn't believe you story, and that just set him off. You know he loves her, right?"

"Yeah, but It's not like I'm in love with her or anything!" I gasped, feeling myself going red with embarrassment.

Paine nodded. "I know, but just stay out of his way."

"No problem there," I said. "But there is no way he'll let me stay here now. Where am I going to go in a world I don't even know?"

"Don't worry about it," Paine said, hitting another button on the panel of the elevator. "I'll speak to him about it and tell him let you stay."

"But…"

"I'm going to be suspicious until you being me proof, but I'm not going to let you go out there and end up lost or killed. You have been through hell over the last twenty four hours, and it isn't fair to let you fall like that."

More tears fell, but they were tears of gratitude this time. "Paine, I really appreciate this."

She held up a hand to stop me before I planned to say more. "Listen, I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm not your friend or anything yet. I just don't want to leave you wandering in a place like this when you have been here for less than a day."

It hurt to hear her say the truth so bluntly, but I understood and let her leave the elevator on her own. I stayed there for some time, thinking things over in my head until I had calmed down.

Rikku was sitting at the bar when I sought her out. At the sight of me she waved me over.

"Hey Racha-uhh, Rach!"

I laughed and sat down beside her, allowing Barkeep to pile odd looking salads in front of me.

"Sorry about what happened before," Rikku added angrily as she stabbed into her own food with her fork. "My brother can be such an idiot sometimes!"

"Yeah, Paine spoke to me about it," I explained as I began to eat. I realised it had been a long time since I had eaten and I gnawed at the food desperately.

"Hey, easy, or you'll choke!" Rikku exclaimed, already poising her arm behind me, ready to whack me on the back.

I slowed down and drowned the meal with a glass of sweet brown liquid that seemed to be Spira's own brand of Coke.

"So what's going to happen to you now?" Rikku asked, sounding worried.

"Paine said she will speak to Brother for me."

"Really? Wow, she must really care about you."

I shook my head. "She doesn't really. She said she doesn't want to feel guilty."

"Oh." Rikku poked her food with a fork a little. "I think she still cares about you. This angry, suspicious, always-studying-you Paine… that's all an act to try and get you to spill the beans, if there are any to spill. She just wants to see if you really are with them, but inside I think she started caring for you the moment she carried you in here."

I shrugged. "Well at the moment I think I will just convince myself that she doesn't. Trust me, finding out that you were wrong when you were sure someone gave a crap what happened you is more than a kick in the guts."

Rikku nodded without really understanding, but she was desperate for a conversation. "How are you feeling here? I mean, this world is heaps different from your own, right? I can't imagine how that feels."

I straightened up in my chair and faced her properly. "Things from my world still hurt because they are wounds that you carry with you, but I feel like things are changing. Not just the obvious things, but the little things. I am handling everything differently now, and on the inside I don't feel so… lonely."

"You're awakening," Rikku said simply.

"What?"

"Awakening. It's an old Al-bhed expression for when you are starting to break away from all of the messy sorrowful stuff inside and instead begin embracing the light and letting all of the good things in. It's like you have been sleeping in a nightmare for a long time, but now are becoming awake and seeing life as what it really is."

"That's a really good way of putting it," I said in awe. "You would make a good counsellor."

Rikku giggled. "Well just call me Dr. R!"


	5. Tense Matters

**Chapter Five: Tense Matters**

I stood in the hall connected to the bridge and felt as though I were walking towards my doom. Brother had called me to the bridge to hear his decision and I felt as light headed as I did when I was about to get a needle. The only thing that calmed me was remembering that Paine had promised to try and convince him to let me stay, and she was quiet convincing in her own threatening way. I could see Brother cowering at her gaze, but then he would die to prove that he was the leader…

My thoughts contradicted each other as I passed through the door and entered the bridge. Everyone was there, Paine with her arms crossed at the side, Yuna and Rikku standing near the centre side by side, and the boys in a line, facing me seriously.

I felt like I was on trial and I passed everyone to stand before Brother.

"Brother decided on a decision this morning, with a little help from everyone else," Buddy explained, casting an eye around the room to the three Gullwing girls.

My legs began to shake a little. I nodded my head obediently and waited for my answer.

"As I leader I must think about everything from all corners," Brother said, crossing his arms and staring towards the roof. He was trying to seem noble and smart, and of course he had invited his usual leader reminder into the sentence.

Again I nodded politely.

"It was a hard decision, and despite the assistance I received in making it, it was entirely up to me in the end."

I saw the fear in his eyes as he glanced at Paine.

"Therefore, I have humbly come to the decision that…" He paused to scare me. "You may stay."

Sighing with relief, but finding that despite all of my worry I was not very surprised, I kneeled down to inhale deeply before saying, "Thank you Brother."

"Yes, well, it was a very honourable ting for me to do," he informed me instantly.

"Now you have a decision to make, Rachael," Buddy said. "You can work for us on this ship, or you can help out Yuna, Rikku and Paine as a Sphere Hunter."

At the second option I heard Rikku squeak with glee, and I had to agree, that was how I felt inside at the opportunity to fight by their side instead of pretending to be there behind a controller and a TV screen.

"Don't answer right away," Buddy said before I could even open my mouth. "You should think it over during today and give us your answer tonight."

I thought that this would be best as well, so I left the bridge to ponder my thoughts. The deck seemed a popular place to do things like this, so I headed there before Paine.

There were many ideas running through my head, all to do with becoming a Sphere Hunter. Excitement sparked though me like electricity and I almost jumped for joy… but that would look stupid if someone saw me. Instead I smiled to the clouds and held my head back to let the wind flow past me.

If I travelled with YRP and gathered spheres I would be experiencing something I had always fantasized over, but I had to think about the dangers. Now that I was out of my world, I valued my life much more, so getting killed was a scary thing to think about. The fiends got tough in some areas, and I knew where which was a good start, but I had no skill in fighting.

That was problem one.

The next issue came with the characters themselves. Even though he had allowed me on his ship to stay, I could tell Brother had not taken a particular shine to me. I pressed a thumb to the tender patch on my face where he had punched me. The rest seemed fine with me, but being with three girls that had problems of their own and completely different opinions may make it difficult to express my grieving for my lost best friend and love.

That was problem number two.

The third was perhaps the most obvious, and that was the sheer truth that I was leading them into a situation that could be more dangerous than either of us knew. What I knew of these kids was very little, but they _were _dangerous, that was for sure. I did not want the others to get hurt, let alone myself, so should I really be doing this?  
The door opened and Paine stepped up onto the deck. She nodded a greeting in my direction and came to stand beside me.

"You're worried," she said simply.

I nodded my head. "Is it that obvious?"

She smiled. "I'm just used to seeing the same look on my face."

Light rain fell on the deck and I tilted my head to feel it on my skin. "I'm just not sure if I can do this."

"You can," Paine answered immediately. "We won't let you get killed or anything, and we won't leave you alone to face these 'demon siblings.'"

"What if you get hurt?"

"They're just kids, right?"

I sighed. "I guess…"

"Just give it a try," Paine said, shrugging. "Come along to our next sphere hunt whether you are interested in their area or not, and then tell me what you think. I think you'll love it."

"I hope so," I said. "By the way, what did you say to Brother?"

Paine laughed. "You know, the usual. 'Let her in or I'll put you half way through that wall.'"

I giggled and looked towards the door to make sure he was not coming up to get some sun.

"Yuna and Rikku really hope you become a Sphere Hunter," Paine told me, and then she lowered her head to hide her shyness. "And so do I. I think it will be good to have another asset to help us fight, and besides… I think you'll make a good friend."

I almost squealed in happiness having finally been accepted by the warrior, but as always she had a warning on her tongue.

"Just don't get careless," she said seriously. "Rikku does the exact same thing when I tell her that I'll be there for her, and it only gets her hurt. I don't want to be responsible for that happening to you either."

I nodded in understanding. "I'll be careful, don't worry."

Seeing that there was no more to add to the conversation, Paine gave me a final emotionless stare and walked away.

I ran into the rooms and without even bothering to make sure no one was there, I threw myself onto my bed and lay sprawled out across the mattress, laughing into my pillow like a maniac. I was so relieved that I had Paine on my side that I could barely even breathe. Things were going to be okay for sure.

Or so I hoped.

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, wondering about the siblings again. Had it been a blessing to come to the world of my dreams, or a curse? I had heard people saying in my life that you had to accept the bad with the good, but setting a pair of blood thirsty kids after me was chaotic.

I realised then that I was putting everyone on this ship in danger by travelling with them. They had said that they would protect me, but that meant that they were a threat to the siblings, and they could get hurt. I didn't understand the power of my two enemies, but if they had the ability to pull me out of my own world and throw me in this one…

"Oh god," I gasped, coming to terms with how blind I had been. Here I was, clinging again, and putting others through hell when I was satisfied with what they did for me.

As though she had a knack for showing herself in emotional times, Rikku raced up the stairs with her always present smile beaming. "There you are! I've been looking…"

She trailed off as she saw my state, and I lowered my head in shame. "Rikku, I'm so sorry for doing this to all of you…"

"Hey, hey, don't cry!" She rushed over and sat at my side on the bed, draping an arm over my shoulders and pulling me closer to her as I stared to let out all of the bubbling emotions that had been in me since I had arrived. She soothed me the entire time, speaking softly in my ear that to convince me that everything would be okay.

Once I had calmed and the tears had stopped, I could finally find the words to explain my fears and doubts. She comforted me the entire way, and finished with a grin on her face.

"You really think they stand a chance against us?" she asked. "The Gullwings whom defeated Vegnagun?"

I sighed, realising that I probably insulting her. "But don't you mind that I am dragging you into this? Any of you?"

She almost laughed in my face. "Rach, if we left you out there to fight on your own, you would be dead. We would never leave you like that."

I guess that was true from what I had found out about their characters from the game, but I still felt guilty. Nevertheless, I was exhausted for every reason possible, and as I started to fall asleep Rikku gently laid me down on the bed.

"Thanks Rikku," I muttered, giving a final apology before my eyes finally closed and I drifted off to sleep.


	6. First Hunt

**Chapter Six: First Hunt**

"Sphere waves, Gullwings!" Buddy cried into the loudspeaker, his voice echoing throughout the ship. It was loud enough to rattle ears, but it got everyone where they were needed on the bridge.

I had been learning all about the sphere hunting tactics to ensure I would come back to the ship alive on my first hunt. As Rikku sifted through rule after rule about magical elements, fleeing from battle, losing your weapon, controlling your attacks, and who knows what else was shoved into my mind, I began to realise how dangerous this really was. When you were being the controller and pushing these girls to their limit during the fights, you don't think about what the reality would be like. It sounded tiring and intimidating and I was beginning to wonder if we should take some extra potions and phoenix downs.

"Alright! Its time to hunt!" Rikku cried as she leapt down the stairs to the bridge floor. Brother gave her a high five and nodded excitedly.

"This one sounds good! Lot's of people are gathering for it!" he explained in a high voice.

Paine sighed. "It's Kilika all over again."

I remembered that mission. Hunters gathered to the village in search of the sphere hidden in the temple and the Gullwings had to put up a good fight to get it. Again I realised how much I had taken the game for granted, but who knew that it would all be real.

"Nope, not quiet. It's in the Mi-hen Highroad, so there aren't as many sphere hunters as there were then because of the feared machina, but we still need to hurry."

The ship gathered a burst of speed and the clouds rushed past the windows as though someone had a remote for this world and they had their thumb firmly on the 'fast forward' button. The sight amazed me and I stepped closer to watch as the lands below sped past in great blurs. It was as though the ocean melted into the islands and became one, and I found myself taking a seat on the cold floor of the Celsius and just staring out.

This struck the three girls as odd.

"Is she alright?" Yuna asked as she approached Rikku and Paine.

"She's fine," Paine reassured the gunner. "She just needs time to take this world in."

I was sure then that Paine was the only one who knew I was crying.

*****

The Mi-hen Highroad. It was as I had seen on the screen, only, of course, real. The rolling fields of grass gave way to resting spots with trees growing idly amongst the green. In the centre was the spine of dirt that people travelled along atop the machina that had gone bad on one occasion. Because of this they were not favoured much anymore, so walking became the favoured was of transport.

We landed in a cloud of dirt, blocking the vision at the windows. I stood and squinted out to try and see what lay before us, and I could vaguely make out figures wandering past.

"Okay Gullwings! Are you ready?" Brother asked, but I know that he was mainly talking to me.

All eyes turned in my direction, glances at first, but they lingered longer than they meant to. Shinra even wandered over and started shoving some smaller potions into my hands, saying that he had made them himself to work just as fast.

_They don't think I can do it, _I thought to myself dismally. I had a strong urge to show them that they were wrong, but then again, I was not sure if I could do it.

With heavy steps I descended the steps with Paine and Rikku. Yuna remained on the ship for a few moments, trying to fight off warnings from Buddy who wanted to ensure my safety. She came out red faced and irritable, but she smiled at me as I apologised.

"It's not your fault. You should be flattered. He's concerned about your safety."

That was fair enough, and I did start to lighten up. So far, apart from Brother and Paine (yet), I had become friends with the entire crew.

_Maybe things won't be so bad, _I thought.

"Okay then, where to?" Rikku asked aloud as she whipped out a contraption that I never got to see in the game.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the circular, whirring device that Rikku held, though I was already quiet sure.

"That's the Sphere Oscillo Finder," Paine answered boredly, confirming my thought.

"Yeah, and its gone wild!" Rikku gasped before she set off at a run, waving her hand to get us to follow.

Yuna laughed. "Come on," she urged excitedly. "Let's go and find that sphere!"

There was no bouncy music, no travellers with the same actions, no graphical errors where the leaves would be still and the grass would wave in the wind.

Mi-hen Highroad was real, and I was walking it.

"This is amazing! Look at that tree over there, how the leaves as such a bright green! Wait, wait, look at those rocks lining the path! Aren't they cute?"

"Okay, I think she's lost it."

"Rikku, imagine if you were thrown into a new world. Wouldn't you act a little… coocky?" Yuna asked as she watched with in amusement.

"Coocky? This is beyond 'coocky' Yuna."

Paine snatched the sphere finding device from Rikku's hands and stared at the dials. "Hurry up. I don't want to lose that sphere."

"What about her?" Rikku asked, jerking her head in my direction.

The warrior shrugged. "I'll drag her if I have to."

My ears prickled at that and I straightened up obediently.

"That's better," Paine said with a devious smile.

According to the little machine, the sphere was not on the main path. Instead, as Paine pointed the machine out to the sea of grass, it began to squeal and screech, a sound that made my ears shudder.

"You have to be kidding!" I moaned. "How are we going to find it out there?"

Something in Rikku's eyes flashed. An idea had formed, and we all stepped back cautiously.

"Rikku…?" Yuna said quietly. "You have an idea, don't you…?"

With a voice louder than I thought any decibel could get, Rikku cried out, "CHOCOBO!"

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Paine roared. "Not after the last time!"

"The chocobo chase," I recalled aloud, keeping my voice low and hidden only to myself.

"Oh, come on, Paine! You had fun!" Rikku dared to enter the area that many others would not.

"Excuse me?" Paine said in deadly coldness.

Rikku saw her mistake and ambled towards the grass. "Uhh… come one, let's go and find this thing, huh?"

We followed in silence, neither me nor Yuna daring to laugh as Paine kept her eyes firmly on Rikku's back as though she were about to shoot daggers.

An hour of wandering through fields of itchy grass that is high enough to drown in on a single fall was not what I expected when I had set off of that ship with the little confidence I had. Despite thinking that I may be doomed in my first battles, I had at least been looking forward to an interesting and enjoyable adventure.

"Here chocobo!" Rikku cried out again and again.

Every now and then the grass would shudder, and a moment later a chocobo would tear across the field and disappear from sight. We were not nearly fast enough to catch it, so our efforts pointlessly drained our energy.

Yuna sighed and lifted a hand to her forehead. "This sun is baking me!" she gasped. "Is it usually this hot here?"

"Always," Paine answered simply. "Haven't you ever been this far out from the road before?"

"No offence Paine, but I don't fancy the dangers like this that you do," the gunner replied. "We could be swimming in fiends and not even know it!"

All eyes glanced down at her words, but nothing jumped out and took a bite out of us. So far we were safe.

That was until Rikku's hectic calls for the bird lured out something less feathery.

I was unaware of the danger until a giant shell flew across the grass and slammed into my body. Every muscle in me jerked into a world of pain and I fell heavily on my back.

"A fiend!" Yuna cried out.

I could hear weapons being pulled out, and footsteps hurried around me, but my head was pounding and I could not get to my feet. What had hit me? Was that my first fiend?

There was a gunshot, then the crack of a shell. Rikku cried out before an animal scream silenced her.

"Rikku, get it! The shell's broken!" I could hear Paine yell out to the young girl.

"R-right!"

There was another cry that was not human, then a thud that was followed by silence.

I lay in the grass, each blade brushing against my crawling skin. I realised I was sweating from fear and though I could not anyway, if I possessed the strength I would not want to sit up. I was too terrified by the attack. It had taken me so quickly and unexpectedly that I was in a state of shock for some time until the girls found me.

"Here she is," Yuna gasped. She kneeled beside me, staring into my eyes.

"Are you alright?" Rikku asked as she too took to my side as well, but her voice seemed as blurred as my eye sight.

"Move," Paine said, her voice less clear. Her burning red eyes appeared and she pressed a vial to my lips.

Not knowing what was about to be forced down my throat by the spiteful girl frightened me and I jerked my head back, however, she was persistent.

"It's just a potion," she said soothingly. "It'll calm you down."

I allowed her to pour the potion down my throat, and moments later I felt the fears fade away and I could move again. With a little help from Rikku and Yuna I was back on my feet.

"What was that?" I asked shakily, trying to keep myself steady.

"That was your first fiend, and I have to say, you didn't handle it too well," Paine informed me with a smirk on her face. "Don't worry though, practice makes perfect."

"Leave her alone, Paine!" Rikku growled, giving her a rather uncharacteristic sign with a certain finger. "She's still new! Of course she isn't going to be perfect right away!"

Paine shrugged. "Well she'd better learn soon, because at the moment she's a dead weight." With those lingering and hurtful words she turned on her heel and waded deeper through the grass.

Yuna gripped my arm. "Don't worry about her. She's not one to praise people."

"Yeah," I muttered flatly. "No kidding."

What on earth would it take to gain the trust and, dare I even believe, _friendship _of this woman? I was beginning to think that I would die wondering.

It was only another ten minutes before we were attacked again. This time I was ready and struck before anyone else. I saw a thorn spiking through the grass, and as soon as it lurched forward I was upon it with my sword, striking again and again.

Unfortunately for me, the fiend had a clever way of using its horn to defend itself and parried my attacks away as though I were fighting with a toothpick.

A bullet made its path true and left a deep hole in the horn. Another three trailed down to its head when it jerked away and switched targets, its eyes now on Yuna instead. She didn't pale, nor did she back away. She held her ground and attacked again.

Paine leapt in front of her and dragged her sword all the way to the fiend where she struck relentlessly, breaking the horn down to a stump. From behind her Yuna shot, keeping her bullets well away from her friend.

I surveyed the setup from the sidelines as I realised I would be little help in this battle. They fought so well together without making a single mistake, but where was Rikku?

I sighted her some metres behind the group, muttering something quietly to herself. She had changed into her mage dress sphere, and I had to admit, she looked amazing. Orbs of magic were circling her as she summoned them, then an orange flame began to pulse at the end of her rod. It burned to life as she pointed it at the fiend, then she shouted the word 'firaga' and an inferno consumed the enemy.

I stared in wonder at the fire as it grew and grew. Inside the wall of flames, the creature was struggling to break free. It roared and growled like a frenzied animal, scratching at the ground as it suffered. I almost felt sorry for it, and I had to look away.

Once the fiend had died, everyone sheathed their weapons and headed further as though nothing had happened. I was left in shock for a few moments as the beast disappeared into a cloud of pyreflies.

"Hey, you coming?" Paine called over her shoulder.

I gave a final shudder before I followed after them, wondering why I should feel sorry for these monsters. They weren't animals, after all. Our purpose was to kill them, and save everyone else from their danger.

Yuna ambled up to me, bringing an end to my wondering mind. "You did a lot better back there," she said cheerfully. "We didn't even see him until you started attacking!"

I sighed. "I didn't do any damage though."

"No, but you did almost use magic. You weren't even in your mage dress sphere, and you had the power flowing around you."

I stared at her. "A-are you sure?"

My worried voice caught her attention. "You didn't notice?"

Now I was getting panicky. "How could I do something like that without realising?" I muttered half to myself. "I mean, that isn't normal, right?"

I saw my fear reflected in her eyes as she realised that I had used a power I did not even know I possessed.

"Rachael, I think we need to talk more about what those siblings said exactly when you arrived here," she said seriously. "I think that this power they mentioned might have something to do with what I saw…"

I felt my knees getting weak. "You mean what they said is true?"

She looked a little hesitant. "I'm not sure, but I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Paine called back again, this time in a much less patient voice. "You two better hurry up! We've found the sphere!"

My heart was pounding against my chest so hard I could almost heart it. I pressed my hand to it and took a deep breath. "I can't believe I didn't even know I was using it! I mean, what if it's dangerous?"

Yuna gave me a comforting tap on the back. "Hey, don't worry bout it right now. You've just found your first sphere!"

That was true, and I was going to try and enjoy myself with these girls, so I let my mind shove the new information into the back of my mind and rushed over to Paine and Rikku to watch my first sphere.


	7. Sphere Secrets

**Chapter Seven: Sphere Secrets **

I could never have begun to image what one of the spheres from the game would look like in real life. The graphics made it hard to tell like everything else, so I assumed it was like a round ball. As I stared into the misty surface of the aqua sphere I realised just mow magical it looked.

It was as though a storm had been captured inside a fragile glass orb. It raged inside, enveloping quick flashing images as it rolled like clouds in the wind. I stared in wonder and touched the surface, finding that it was soft and my finger left a small indent that slowly fleshed itself out again.

"Amazing…" I breathed.

Seeing my awed face, Rikku giggled and clapped me on the back. "If you think that's cool, then you should actually try to watch it! Go on, try and figure it out!"

I was uncomfortable with being in the spotlight in front of these three girls, having to do something I had no idea about. I racked my brain to try and think of a scene when they had watched a sphere, but none came to memory. I swore quietly to myself and stared into the orb, tyring to see it through the rising mist. I couldn't see a thing, so I pressed my eyes up close to the surface and widened them until they hurt.

Paine sniggered and pulled it out of my hands. "Let me show you before you hurt yourself," she said unkindly, pressing it to her temple until the edge flattened out against the pressure.

"Are you trying to squeeze that into your brain?" I asked, half joking, half serious.

Rikku burst out laughing and lounged her arm on my shoulder. "Rach, Rach, Rach… All you do is hold it to your temple and whatever is recorded on it will be visible to you, but you have to close your eyes or you'll lose it and have to start over."

It sounded like watching a DVD, only it was in your mind. "Does it pause and rewind?" I asked, joking completely this time.

Paine opened her eyes and sighed. "I can't make any sense of it," she said with a heavy sigh, passing it to Yuna. "You try and figure it out."

Yuna watched the orb, and once it was finished she looked as puzzled as Paine. "What the…"

"Let me watch it!" Rikku gasped. "I'll figure it out!"

The cocky blonde received the orb and almost cracked it against her head in her eagerness (if it was actually possible to crack it). She screwed up her face as the orb played before her closed lids, then opened them to stare into blank space as she thought. She groaned as she came to no conclusions and passed it off to me. "Se if you get it," she said. "It's just two kids talking about some sort of vibes to each other… Sounds kinda kinky if you ask me." She had to add that part in, and Paine rewarded her with a smack to the back of her head.

I held the sphere up to my head and almost jerked at the freezing cold sensation. Every part of me started to lose feeling as I started to hear voices that were not there. They were fuzzy and faltering, so I quickly closed my eyes before I would lose the recording.

_Sand blew across a shutting iron door that scraped along the paved ground. Whoever held the recording was working in a hurry. They were panting and shaking as they turned and hurried down a crimson hall, gripping the orb so tightly their fingers could be seen on the rim of my vision._

_ The recorder rushed around a corner, then threw open a door so hard that it slammed against the wall._

_ Inside, a voice came, sharp and angry. "Careful, you idiot! Are you trying to get us caught?"_

_ "Sorry, Marelle, but I'm really nervous. I thought I heard footsteps following me."_

_ The voice hushed the recorder. "Shut up, will you! I'm sure that our boss doesn't want to hear pathetic small talk like this! He'll have our tongues if you don't watch it!"_

_ "Sorry…"_

_ A light was flicked and the entire room lit up, showing a very empty storage room the girl Marelle whom glared at the recorder. "Well, hurry up and put it down! I need your help with this!"_

_ The orb was placed on the ground and the recorder, and a boy of about the same age as Marelle stepped over to her and embraced her quickly. She allowed it for a moment before pushing him away and telling him to take a seat on the floor._

_ "Before we start, I need to tell you that it is getting harder to find that feeling," she said angrily, clenching her fists. "I can't even recognise its location anymore. We need to find it and extract it before I lose it completely."_

_ The boy looked up at her sadly. "Maybe you need a rest. Let me do it tonight, sis. I have more energy than you, so I think I can handle it."_

_ Marelle glared at him sharply. "You think I can't do it!? You think you could do better!?"_

_ Her companion turned away, hiding a secret smile. "No, sister, I'm sorry!"_

_ "You should be! We might as well stop the sphere, now. There's nothing more to do that he doesn't know about." She turned to it and smiled, bowing a little along with her brother. "Sorry about all of that, leader. It seems my idiot brother here does not know how to show you proper respect. As I have stated to him, I am having trouble sensing the power anymore, and my mind is constantly rattled. I apologise if you are disappointed. I will try harder if I can manage it."_

_ The sphere went black._

I dropped the orb from my hands and felt it shatter my feet.

"Good going," Paine said sarcastically, though she gave me a confused stare as I stood shaking like a leaf.

Yuna gripped my hand. "Sorry, I didn't think the first sphere would affect you like that," she said guilty.

I shook my head and took a step away from the sphere as though it were made of evil. "It's them… it's them…"

Rikku caught my free hand. "Are you alright? Who was it?"

I didn't have time to reply. I started to fall backwards as my legs lost all support. To my surprise Paine had rushed forward with amazing agility and caught me. She sat me down and set in front of me, staring at my face and blocking out the panicked Yuna and Rikku.

"Who where they?" she asked calmly.

I took a deep breath, tried to steady my shaking hands, and answered.

"The two that took me out of my own world. It was them. I saw them!"

*****

"What?"

Brother could barely understand what was happening. It seemed I was more trouble than I was worth, and he didn't want to get involved.

"That's not fair!" Rikku cried, getting her face right up to his. "She's practically a Gullwing, and you want to just ignore this? They could be hunting for her!"

He shook his head and pulled away from her. "No! I'm not putting the rest of us in danger just for her!"

"Oh, come on Brother!" Yuna piped up, too kindly to be taken seriously. "You'd go if it was for one of us. Why not her? She's proven that she's trustworthy."

"That's not entirely true…"

Everyone turned to Paine as she stared at me with piercing eyes. "She seems to be quiet more powerful than we expected. What was with that little lightshow during battle? And don't blame it on your dress here. It's been checked by Shinra, so there's no point in weaselling yourself through that hole."

My heart plummeted. "You saw that?"

She nodded. "Spill."

I knew that what I had to say would sound bad because I didn't actually know how I had done it. Nevertheless, I had to try. "I'm not entirely sure how I did it, to be honest. I didn't feel anything at all, and I wouldn't had known about it if Yuna hadn't told me."

"They were like flames," she pointed out, standing in front of me as though Paine would throw herself at me in an instant. "Maybe she just accidentally used magic. What's weird about that?"

"Hmm, let me think," Paine said with her head tilted to the side, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe it's weird because she was in her warrior dress here! The last time I checked you can't use magic in that sphere unless it is an ability, and it only affects the weapon, not the whole damn person!"

Rikku jumped to my aid. "Maybe she's skilled with magic!" she suggested in a voice tight with fear from the situation. "Some people can use certain abilities no matter the dress here if they're experts! I can steal in most of mine!"

Paine shook her head. "I'm not buying it. I don't know about the pair of you, bit it felt different. When I saw it I felt almost like my eyes were burning. My heart was tight and I couldn't breathe, as though just having it in my sights affected me. Imagine the damage it could do if it was actually used against someone in an attack!"

Yuna lowered her head. "I felt it too… but Rachael wouldn't do something like that! You know her Paine!"

The warrior rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall of the bridge. "Yuna, you can protect her all you want, but you're listening to lies. This is all a charade so she can get us caught by her little friends in that sphere and they can kill us, or take all of our stuff, or _whatever!_ Either way, I want her off this ship as much as Brother."

"Yes!" Brother shouted, pointing at me tauntingly. "That is exactly why I want you off as well! You're dangerous!"

"No, I'm not! I don't know what's going on with me, seriously!"

Paine growled and pulled away from the wall, coming at me like a beast on a rampage. She stopped right in front of my face and spoke in a deadly quiet voice. "Go and collect your things and get the hell off of this ship."

Yuna gripped my arm and pulled me away from Paine, asking the enraged warrior why she was doing this. It ended in an entire crew argument, and I didn't want to hear it. I slipped out silently and headed to the rooms to collect my things.

If they were going to turn against me like that, than I would have no way in surviving. My old feelings of escaping the world through my own means bloomed inside of me. The passion of suicide was a powerful thing to think about, and it brought me to tears as I gathered my things. It seemed I couldn't win in either world.

"Rach?"

I turned to see Rikku, Yuna, and Buddy standing in the elevator doorway, looking as guilty as I felt depressed.

Before any words could be said, Yuna threw herself at me and hugged me. "I am so sorry," she gasped in my ear. "It's not fair, and you shouldn't be kicked off like this! It makes me so angry!"

I released her gently. "Well don't take it out on Paine. She's mad enough to take anyone's head off by the sounds of it."

"Actually," Rikku said through gritted teeth. "She's quiet proud of herself at the moment." She looked close to tears and hid it behind rage.

Buddy took my small bag of things that seemed very unimportant now, and we stepped onto the elevator together. I hastily wiped my eyes as I realised they were wet with tears.

"You're a good person," Buddy said suddenly before we reached the bridge for my descend. "I know that you're innocent, but unfortunately Brother calls the shots. However, if it had been up to a vote, you would still be here. I promise you that the only two against you are Paine and Brother. You still have our thoughts, even when you are off of this ship."

His character in real life seemed a little different in the game with such heart warming words, but then again as I thought about it I realised that there were not many opportunities to really get to know him that well when you were playing. Regardless of the sudden discovery, I thanked him in a quivering voice, knowing that soon they need not be worried about me. The bitter thoughts still plagued my mind, and I knew better than anyone else that they were hard to get rid of.

We re-entered the bridge to see a silent Paine and Brother watching as I prepared to leave the ship. Brother didn't share me any more thoughts as he released the stairs to the ground below. They fell loose with a sharp clang that made me jump a little as my nerves went wild.

"We're in the Calm Lands, so there are plenty of places to rest and eat. It's safe, so you shouldn't have any hassles," Paine explained emotionlessly as she nodded her head to the ground below.

I took a step towards the edge of the stairs, trying to remember what the Calm Lands looked like. It was a bright green field at the edge of a cliff, a place for betting games and competition. That was what I expected to see, but instead I was staring at the darkened ruins of Baaj Temple.

I realised the trick and took a quick step back, but Paine pushed me forward. I caught a flicker of a savage smile across her face before I tumbled out of the ship to land in the green acrid water below. Bubbles surrounded me in thick clouds and I had to kick hard to escape. I surfaced to see the ship flying away and could hardly believe how the heartless turn of events had occurred so quickly.

Now I was truly alone.


	8. Heart in Ruins

**Chapter Eight: Heart in Ruins **

The game hadn't captured the cruel edge to the temple ruins. It was a cold, dark, lonely place where the voice would echo and never receive a reply. Rain coated everything in a downpour at least once an hour, ceasing to leave bruised clouds behind that never lifted. The smell was unbearably to take in, like rotting animals hidden amongst the shadows and beneath the dying waters.

I stood in the centre of the chaos during the third downpour, lying on my stomach and crying out for something, anything to come and take me away from this cruelness. If I had been in my right mind I would had said that I had completely lost it, but thankfully I had sense enough to eventually start to crawl to a meagre shelter once I realised there was nothing around that could kill me.

Rain pattered against the broken roof I took refuge beneath, dripping over the edges and leaving me with only a few inches of free dry bricks to cuddle myself on. I bit my lip to stop tears from flowing, feeling disappointed with myself as it was. I didn't need to feel any worse in this state. I didn't think I could handle any more emotion, but I couldn't exactly cut off that part of me either. If I could, I wouldn't have longed to die when everything fell apart.

Getting tired of feeling sorry for myself, I started to think about what I had seen in the sphere and what had happened to me during the battle, and piece it all together.

So far all I knew was that the siblings had taken me out of my own world to theirs so they could harness my 'power,' but I had escaped their clutches in the desert only to be found by the Gullwings. I then had a battle that I couldn't handle, so I stood back and apparently delved into my power without even realising. At the same time as this confusion I had found a sphere that showed the siblings in an abandoned ruined site where they spoke about not being able to 'feel' something. The girl, Marelle, seemed frustrated by the fact, and they said that they were recording the sphere for their boss.

I could make no more sense out of it. Who was their boss, what was this power, what were they 'feeling', and the most pathetic question of all, what the hell was the brother's name?

I bit my lip as I realised the sad fact that there was no way I could figure all of this out on my own. I needed help… Their help.

"How could Paine do this to me?" I asked myself, looking to the sky as though expecting them to come flying back. Yuna and Rikku would be giving her hell, that was for sure. Those two were the only ones on the ship whom had the guts to start on Paine, but I didn't want any more trouble to be caused because of me. I especially didn't want to destroy their friendship when I knew how precious it was.

I lay my head back against the brick wall behind me and felt them shift under the weight. It seemed I couldn't even relax. I would have to deal with the thoughts and emotions swirling inside of me without resting, but I wasn't stable enough to deal with it then. To help myself calm down, I took a walk through the rain. It was clearing up, so it wasn't as bad as I had been prepared for, and as it began to stop, I decided to explore.

The area I was on was small compared to the larger piece. It was as though the temple was on a filthy semi-circle of land that barely kept above the surface. It surrounded a giant pool of water where Tidus had been attacked in the game before this one. After that were more mounds of land like stepping stones. They led up to the giant temple that was mainly intact, but I did not see myself getting all of the way over there.

Instead I made it to the next little island separated by a thin river of water. I stepped through effortlessly and poked around the different levelled mini style temples, some higher than me that I had to climb to, and others easy to walk straight into. On the walls I could see small al-bhed writing, but I had no hope of reading it when they were caked with dirt and rust. I found my purpose of looking for writing that I could read, for I could remember most of the characters after looking them up for the game.

Eventually, I came to a larger semi-constructed temple that looked as though a boulder had crashed through the broken side. Pieces that had been smashed were like jagged blades of glass that yearned for my feet, but I jumped inside and slid into the wall across the rain covered bricks. I earned a blood nose from the embarrassing accident, but I also found the writing I desired.

I could not put my finger on why exactly I wanted to read al-bhed writing so much, but I was very excited to find some that was actually in good condition. So much so that I was laughing as I translated what it said.

_Worlds born from one sun,_

_One sun born from the World_

_Planet of vivid blue_

_Births a power forgotten_

I stared at the words, my heart suddenly beginning to pound in my chest. The power, the vivid blue world, and the different worlds in the universe… This was it. I was staring at the prophecy of my power, written in stone before my eyes. I was from the vivid blue planet, Earth, whom had the power inside of her, but what did that mean?

I searched relentlessly for more information on the other walls, but even as I scrubbed away at the mud I realised that none of it had to do with that power. Many of them were leaked parts of other prophesies, forgotten in the ages. It was as though I was in a graveyard of prophecies that had been left to die, but mine was here, and as long as I was here mine would live.

I collapsed against the wall of my prophecy and laughed out loud to the sky, having found another piece of the puzzle. This had been written of along time ago, and the siblings, or rather their boss most probably, had gathered the information and wanted this power for himself, but what it did and why he wanted it still escaped me.

"Oh well," I muttered to myself. "I found something at least." I almost laughed at myself having started looking at positives when there were scarcely any to be found. It was funny how we change our nature when circumstances demand it.

I realised that it had not rained for some time, and I took the opportunity to make my way over to the bizarre stairwell shaped ruins that hung over the water where the giant fish lay beneath. I stared down into the depths fearfully, as though expecting it to jump out and attack at any moment, but I pushed on to the topmost rocks. With a heavy exhale that released some of my pent up anger towards Paine's evil act, I dangled my feet over the edge of the rock formation and stared down into the water.

I found myself in a surprisingly peaceful state, but I knew that beneath that layer my emotions were raging like a torrent, and soon they would explode. I had been abandoned with no idea what was going to happen, and with a pair of nutcases chasing me to take my semi-latent power, things were grim indeed.

As I thought about what Paine had done more deeply, I realised it was a little out of character. In the game she had the sort of personality where you could make the safe assumption that she would protect others and save them if they needed it. I had become a friend to her, that much she had admitted to me, but she had turned on me as her fears became realised. She no longer trusted me, and therefore thought that betrayal was the only way, but it just didn't feel right.

I lay back against the stone step and thought, racking my brains until it hurt both inside and out. I was growing frustrating as I struggled to understand the confusing woman, then it hit me. It was so simple. She was protecting Rikku and Yuna all along, protecting them from me. I saw the way she stayed close to them during the mission and the way she eyed me carefully if I was talking to one of the pair.

"So she is a good person after all," I realised, understanding that our moment of trust had only been that, a moment. It was fragile enough to break as soon as she saw something suspicious, and her desperate need to keep her friends safe took her to the limit I had never experienced before.

It was a little ironic that she would do something horrible to one person to do something good for another, but I envied her for it. After all, it was something selfless that I had never achieved. If only I could had learned more for her.

I was getting depressed thinking of my lost opportunities, so I decided to take a walk along the edge of the walkway. I noticed that in the centre not far from where I stood most of the structure had collapsed due to the accident that had taken place two years ago. It amazed me to realise that the first game still had its impacts on this universe despite them being two different games.

I walked to the edge of the broken piece and stared down to see the middle of the lake below. I knew that the giant fish lurked there, for there was a shadow rippling the surface. It frightened me and I backed away a little, but eventually it faded away.

Calming down, I took a chance and jumped to the other side. It was quiet a distance, but the opposite height was lower, so I made it without too much difficulty. Once I had landed I collapsed to my knees with a jarring thud, but adrenaline forced me back to my feet. Adventure was rushing through me and I realised that this feeling came before I thought about ending everything. I swallowed and bid myself to calm down, but I couldn't stop myself.

Slowly, I stepped to the very edge of the stone I stood on and bent low to the water that lay very far below. How easy it would be to fall and forget all of this pain that would soon arise. For the moment I felt giddy, but the sorrow hadn't sunk in yet. Soon I would realise how well and truly stuck I was without the Gullwings, and how I had failed yet again.

"Fall," I told myself, commanding my feet to teeter over the edge. "I need to fall, and forget all of this…" I was scaring myself, but it was as though I were possessed. I started to feel weepy and a tear trickled down my face. "What more can I do?"

I took another step, this time my feet not finding the ground. I fell feet first down towards the water like a bullet. Cold wind tore at me painfully as I descended to the water, and I started to scream. It was too late. I broke the surface and fell far beneath in a cloud of bubbles that obscured my view. I panicked in my blind state and waved my arms around to try and swim towards the surface again, but I was too shocked to do little more than flap like a dying bird.

Then I saw it. A shadow, small at first until it grew size almost magically in the distant waters. I stared, barely remembering that I hadn't taken a breath. It was coming towards me, not growing. It was massive in size at it was, and I started to become conscious of my surroundings, the same as those in the previous game.

Panicked, I managed to force myself up to the surface where I took a much needed breath. I was shaking from the cold and the terror of something being beneath me, and before I could start to swim towards the ruined shore the giant shadow took form and crashed into me.

I was lifted out of the water on the beast's head that was about he same size as my body. It's sharpened teeth gnashed at the air as it tried to bite into my, but I pushed myself to its back, gripping it's ribcage that was not covered with flesh. We were in the water again a moment later, and I was gripping on with dear life as the giant fish fiend dragged me through the water, shaking it's body to rid itself of me.

I recognised it immediately as the fish that had attacked Tidus, only it seemed to be darker and smaller. I blamed it on the colours of the game versus the real world of Spire, but then I remembered that the original creature had been crushed when Tidus has swum into the cavern. This one was different, and it seemed younger than the first.

My hands were growing weak as I swallowed water and choked. My body couldn't take much more and I released, floating in the water with my senses failing slowly, one by one. The giant fish came back, snapping its jaws in my direction. It looked blurry in my dying vision, and I decided that this was it. It was time to let go and die here in this lake…

The thought diminished as a bright flash of yellow dove towards the fish and collided with a thick cloud of blood. The fish roared, the sound surprisingly loud underwater. It flipped to the side almost drunkenly and battered it's wing like fins at the attacker. I couldn't realise what it was and assumed it was another predator whom would soon turn on me.

More and more blood flowed from the fish and it seemed it had no chance against this new fighter. It moaned and started to lose its energy gradually, but it was all in slow motion in my eyes. I lost the sensation of drowning. It didn't feel torturous like I thought it would. It was peaceful, and I even managed to smile before everything faded to black.

"How is she?"

"She's still out, Yuna."

"You don't have to talk to Yuna in that tone, Paine."

"Well stop asking! I'll tell you as soon as she so much as twitches."

"Don't argue you two! She wouldn't want to wake up to that!"

"Yeah, you're right Yuna… She probably feels bad enough after what I did to her."

"Hmm? Paine regretting something? That's something new!"

"Shut up, Rikku!"

As the conversation became clearer in my mind, I started to become conscious of the world again. I scraped my hand across the bricks beneath me and managed to crack my eyes open very slightly. The first thing that I could see was a gothic mess of storm grey hair and a pair of crimson eyes staring into my own, then two memories came back to me: Paine's betrayal and the fish attack.

Fear rushed through my body and I started to thrash around, not possessing the strength to get up and run away, but having plenty to fight back as Paine tried to hold me still.

"Shit… Help me!" she growled to Rikku and Yuna whom stared at me in alarm. "She's in shock! You need to help me keep her down and calm her!"

Nothing that was being said made any sense to me. All I could think about was getting away from Paine. I stared pleadingly at Yuna and Rikku, begging them silently to save me from her, but instead they joined her and held me down.

"Get off!" I roared, one of my largest fears being held down. It reminded me of being caged like the animal as I was in life back home.

Home… Where was that now? Here? Earth? Where did I actually belong?

I screamed and thrashed harder against the Gullwing girls, my sanity finally cracking as I realised that I didn't know anything in this world. I didn't know who I was, where I was supposed to be, and who to trust anymore. Was this the reason for being sent here? To learn through more suffering?

Paine slapped me hard in the face. It was so sudden that it took a few moments to actually sting, and when it did, it hurt a hell of a lot. I glared up at her, a strange sensation of burning flames replacing the floe of blood through my body. By the looks on the faces of Yuna and Rikku I realised that I had tapped into my strange power again, but I didn't care. Paine would pay… but she didn't look afraid.

"Calm down," she said simply, stern, but not unkind. She gripped my wrist that I had raised into the air without even knowing and lowered my hand to the ground. "I don't want to hurt you again, so calm yourself."

For a moment I thought that she was lying and was about to strike, but the look in her eyes was so odd and alien… She looked sad.

"Are you ready to listen without punching me out?" she asked, sitting back and letting me free from her clutches.

I had to think about this seriously before I nodded stiffly. "What do you have to say to me?" I spat.

A twitch of a smile played on Paine's lips. "Well that's the first time I've heard you sound like that. It's a good change from the innocent goody-goody I've grown painfully used to."

I swallowed her words, tyring to understand if they it was an insult or praise.

She continued, looking very uncomfortable now. "I have to say that I'm sorry for treating you like I have, and pushing you off of the ship. Trust me, I payed for it." She glanced at her friends whom were glaring at her. Clearly she had not been forgiven by them.

"Why should I accept your algology?" I asked, my emotions raging like I had been expecting them to. "How do you think it made me feel, being rejected in this world just like my own! You don't know what that's like! You don't know anything!" I was on my feet without even realising, running across the ruins with my dripping clothes gripping me tightly. I made it some distance before someone grasped me tightly around the middle and I came crashing to the muddy ground.

It was Paine. She had me pressed down beneath her hands again, and spoke with fury. "I know what it feels like to be rejected! I have spent my life alone, and I was wrong to treat you like I did! Trust me, I am not letting myself off of the hook, but you must realise, you aren't the only one who has suffered!"

Her outburst was mire frightening than I had ever seen in the game. I could almost feel the rage coming off of her. Her eyes were a burning crimson piercing down into me, and her body was shaking in rage. She gave a soft whimper as her mind delved into a past she would rather forget, and her angry features fell surprisingly fast.

Her grip loosened, and I managed to pull myself up. "Paine… I didn't know that it was so bad… I'm sorry."

The warrior tensed, clearly not having expected to be the one receiving an apology that afternoon. She immediately felt guilty and lowered her head. "Don't be. You still have a lot to learn. You can't be blamed."

There was an awkward silence only to be broken as Yuna and Rikku caught up, both doubling over after the long run.

"You guys sure are fast! Ever think of stopping for us?" Rikku complained, collapsing next to Paine.

Yuna seemed to always know what was going on, and sensing that I needed time with Paine, she grasped Rikku by the scarf and told her to explore with her. Rikku looked confused and glanced back at us, but Yuna dragged her away.

Glad for the peaceful break from her shadowy friends, Paine took us both out of the mud and we rested in one of the decapitated ruins where she explained herself.

"I was starting to trust you," she started with, trying to make the story sound positive at least for the beginning. "I even called you friend, and I meant it, but then I started to think about your story with the two kids, and I watched the sphere. I'm sorry to say that it all seemed a little freaky, the way they were talking about some boss person. We've fought a lot of sinister guys like that before, but this all felt a little different. It felt a lot more dangerous, as though the entire story had its own vibe that was warning me to stay away."

I had never heard her talk like this, with such depth and growing fear, and needless to say, I enjoyed this different side of her.

"I was getting a little uneasy travelling with you, and after that power that you showed without even realising I knew that this was too much for us to handle. My first thoughts were to protect Yuna and Rikku, because even though they told you otherwise, there was fear in their eyes. I wanted them to feel secure, and that meant we had to let go of you… I felt bad for it, but to help myself continue with the process of getting you away from us, I convinced myself that your story was too farfetched to be true."

"So you lied to yourself," I said, summing up the conclusion. "I mean… you do think it's true, right?"

"Not straight away," she admitted. "And that's why I'm here now. You see, once you were off of the ship I got quiet lecture from Yuna and Rikku. They told me that they knew it was all true, that you wouldn't lie, that you were a good person. At first I was too angry to listen, but then Buddy and Shinra did some research behind my back to learn about the siblings, and whilst they were searching, the kids contacted our ship."

My breath caught in my throat. "_What?"_

She nodded, understanding my surprise. "We could hardly believe our ears as they started to speak through that damn loudspeaker. They demanded to know where you were, saying that they had lost contact with you. They didn't mind too much, telling us that they could sense wherever you were with their remarkable powers, and it seems that they can't seem to locate anything in this area. I was about to let it spill that you were here, but having the proof that you weren't lying all along kept me quiet."

"So no one said anything to them?"

She snickered. "Brother was about to let it all out, but I gave him a concussion to stop all of that, then I had some nice parting words for the little brats before they ended the conversation."

I stifled a laugh, but things were too serious to hold onto the feeling. "Why would they tell you anything about their power?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

She shrugged. "I assume it's because they didn't really expect us to take any action. They're carelessly confident, it seems, cocky little shits. They made a mistake though, because they failed to probe our ship with whatever contraptions they had wherever they were so we found out their location with our nifty little radars. Good thing to know that your enemies aren't as smart as they play out."

"_Our _enemies," I corrected swiftly, almost by an impulse.

Paine nodded and smiled. "I guess your right. This is a battle for all of us now, because we neve leave a Gullwing to fly alone.

Gullwing… It seemed I had finally found my purpose.


	9. Return to the Sands

**Chapter Nine: Return to the Sands**

Being back on the Celsius felt a little unnerving, especially when I found myself under Brother's watchful eyes. Everyone else seemed happy to have me back, but he watched me like an eagle. Wanting to escape the feeling of being hunter like an animal, I headed up to the beds and started unpacking what little I held onto.

"Once you're ready we'll go down and discuss the matter of the siblings," Paine told me as she followed me up through the elevator. "Brother isn't happy about helping you, but we had another vote before we found you again, and it was unanimous that we all fight these guys. Try to be quick though, cause I think the vein in his neck is about to burst."

I watched her go and heaved a heavy sigh. They had been located in the Bikanel Desert, where this had all begun. The reason for this was unknown, as was there purpose and everything else I wondered about, but at least we knew that they could sense me. Still, it wasn't a particularly good thing to know, seeing as they could come at us whenever they wanted once they realised I was back on the ship.

"I'm dragging everyone down with me," I muttered to myself. "But they want to help me. So all I can do is protect them. If anyone is going to die at the hands of these two little psychos, it will be me, and me alone."

With that dismal promise, I trudged down the stairs and entered the bridge where the rest of the Gullwings waited. I was greeted warmly by Yuna and Rikku, receiving a nod from Paine and a tiny smile from Buddy. Shinra was teasing Brother as he went through a tantrum in the corner of the ship before finally composing himself in a calmer matter and turning to face me. His face was twisted with rage, but he held himself together and wapled over to me, his eyes refusing to meet my own.

"You know what we foind out, right?" he asked, clearly not willing to repeat it to me. I nodded, and he gave a sigh as though angry that now he didn't have an excuse to snap at me. "Alright, well… we are trying to come into contact with them to demand some answers, but they seem to be either ignoring us or are too far into the desert for us to locate." He was trying to sound intelligent to hold his rage back, but I could see him shaking.

Paine kept her attention turned to him with every word he said as though she were the bouncer ready to break up the fight. I was thankful for her readiness to intervene, but I hoped her held would not be needed.

"Seeing as that plan has failed, I think we should head into the ruins to track them down," Buddy spoke from the end of the bridge where he worked to find new locations. "We need to vote on it though, so all of those whom agree on the idea of-"

"Of rushing into battle and putting our lives at stake, raise your hand," Brother interrupted, a sly smile on his face as he kept his hands at his sides.

As expected, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine were more than ready to jump right in, as were Buddy and Shinra. Although Brother was losing, he kept his vote, however all eyes were on me as everyone realised I had not yet risen my hand.

"I-isn't there another way?" I asked desperately. "I mean, I think these kids are really dangerous, so this is going to be different from your usual enemies, right?"

Rikku laughed out loud as though what I had said was unbelievably funny. "Are you kidding me? We're tougher than we look, you know."

Paine closed her eyes as though hiding her surprise. "What else would you recommend we do?"

I choked on my words. It was a good question. What other choice did we have? We couldn't locate them through our ship, and even then, they wouldn't answer. All we could do was head to them and try our best. "Okay, I guess there isn't another way… Let's do it, then."

"So it's decided, Brother," Buddy said almost gleefully from where he sat, putting in the new coordinates. "Next stop, Bikanel Desert."

Yuna and Rikku danced around on the spot, tyring to get Paine to join them. She pushed them away harmlessly and tried to hide a smile as Shinra sang along to the dance with a terrible voice. I couldn't help but giggle as I noticed Brother cursing under his breath and acting like a child being denied a toy.

So… this is what it was like to be a Gullwing.

*****

We arrived at Bikanel Desert three hours later, floating above the great golden sands that stretched on for as far as the eye could see. It was like the ocean: Empty and lonely.

I looked down at the land in which my adventure had begun. I could almost picture the camp where I had been held by the siblings, and it sent a chill up my spine despite the heat that was seeping into the ship.

"I still can't locate them here," Buddy said as he tampered with the keys at his computer station. "That messes things up a little."

"What do you mean?" I asked, walking over to him and looking over his shoulder at the tiny alarms that lit up the screen.

"This ship can't last forever in the desert because the heat gets to it and screws with the engine. Sorry, but it looks like you'll have to be walking."

Brother laughed out lod, then disguised it as a cough.

"What is Yuna gets dehydrated?" Rikku asked, glaring at him. "Still think it's funny?"

The smile was wiped form his face and replaeced with terror. "Oh no! Yuna, stay aboard the ship and we will watch the festivities form in here with the cool air conditioners. You can stay with me until they come back, hmm?"

A look of revulsion crossed over the former summoners face, but she smiled politely and shook her head. "I'm sorry Brother, but I'm a Gullwing and therefore it is my mission as well. Besides, I have to take care of my friends here."

Paine rolled her eyes and started preparing her dress spheres. "I'm sure we could manage without singing on the way."

Yuna ignored this and disappeared into a bright white light as she transformed into a white mage. "Safety comes first, and I didn't think you enjoyed the healing outfit."

"Well that's true," the warrior muttered, letting out a satisfied roar as she became a growling berserker. "Healing first, killing second…"

"And freezing third!" Rikku squealed, raising her arms into the air as the four elemental orbs twinkled at her hands and circled her to leave her body draped in the familiar black mage's uniform.

"What about you?" Paine asked as Yuna and Rikku started to gather potions. "Fighting, healing, or casting?"

I thought for a moment, pondering the different spheres I could use. I hadn't used one yet and I thought for a moment that everyone had forgotten, but Yuna grasped my wrist and smiled kindly at me. "Let's start you off with something easy."

The warrior dress sphere was chosen. It was basic to understand, and still handy in battle. I would be fighting alongside Paine as she was also going to be attacking and Yuna and Rikku would be in the background to cast magic.

"Press down on the sphere, close your eyes, and let the power flow into you," Yuna instructed as I prepared myself mentally and physically. "It might be a little daunting at first, but I'm right here incase you faint."

It wasn't exactly encouraging, but I followed her instructions and let my eyes slide closed. My fingers closed over the sphere, my fingers pressing against the warming orb. Energy started to flow from my finger tip and raced into my hand. It shocked me so much that I let out a gasp, but a hand pressed against my shoulder and I assumed it was Yuna comforting me.

"Just let it do it's thing."

I almost gasped again, realising that it was Paine who was keeping me calm. I concentrated harder, not wanting to let her down, and the flowing feeling of buzzing warmth slowly worked its way up my arm as though travelling through my veins in the place of blood. It finally reached my shoulder, then rushed through the rest of me so fast that I collapsed from the shock. Luckily Paine was both strong and fast and caught me easily in her iron grip.

"Easy there. Can you stand?"

I steadied my shaking feet and let her pull me back up into a standing position. I felt myself shaking and bent down low to catch my breath and try to slow my shaking heart.

I heard a snigger from beside me, and then Rikku's voice. "You know, you can open your eyes now."

"Oh… right."

I slowly opened my eyes a crack and glanced down at my clothes that had now changed completely. I had almost forgotten that part of the dress sphere change and yelped in shock. Instead of the baggy clothes I was used to wearing, I now wore a thick armoured tunic that was a dark charcoal colour with a matching pair of long, waving pants. My shock only grew as I felt a tugging weight at my back and reached over my shoulder to grasp the thick cold hilt of a buster sword. Pulling it out in front of me, I realised that the blade was black with silver writing etched over the blade. The hilt shone bronze, decorated with the face of a stallion with icy crystal eyes.

"This is… amazing," I muttered, lifting my hand to star t my palm that had an odd tingling. "Is it supposed to feel this… powerful?"

Paine nodded. "The dress sphere is designed to fight, and therefore until you step out into combat it will continue to tingle until its needs are met."

"Its almost as though it has a mind of its own."

"They all feel like that." The warrior suddenly bore a giant grin. "You should try using this one, the berserker dress sphere. It's like trying to tame an animal."

I shivered, already struggling with my own warrior instinct. "I think I'll pass for now."

By the time we stepped out into the desert, Brother was fuming with the time we had 'wasted' searching for the siblings via the ship. It seemed he was eager to get rid of me, but he held onto Yuna like a puppy begging for its master to stay.

"Please rethink this!" he almost yelling into her face. "It's dangerous out there, and I don't trust those three to keep you safe. In this ship I can protect you from everything!"

"What exactly poses a threat on this ship?" Buddy asked incredulously, standing by the side of the descending steps as I stepped down with Rikku and Paine.

Brother thought for a moment, racking his brains desperately before he pointed to Shinra's messy area of wires and pulsing computers. "That could catch fire at any moment and burn your innocent little hands!" he roared, glaring at Shinra. "But I will keep you safe, Yuna!"

She smiled and wrapped her arms behind her as she always did in the games she was present in. "Don't worry Brother. I trust them to keep a good eye on me. Anyway, I don't like the sound of those wires anymore. I think I'll take my chances out under the sun."

Brother's features shattered and he collapsed to his knees as Yuna left the ship. Buddy couldn't help but laugh, saying, "You would have been better off just telling her that being on this ship would keep her from getting sunburnt or something."

"Shut up!"

We could hear them arguing even with the sands howling around us. I could almost picture the ship rocking as they attacked each other, but the other girls simply turned away and walked off into the desert. It was clearly more often that this happened than I had thought.

With a frightened backward glance, I chased after the rest of the Gullwings, finding it surprisingly easy to run such a heavy outfit. My legs felt strong as though the energy flow inside of me had pumped into my legs for the current activity of running. I had never felt such speed and reached them in a matter of seconds.

"Good to see you're already getting the hang of it," Rikku complimented, her wild braids whirling in the wind around her head beautifully, her grin ever present.

"I only hope I can keep up in battle," I said, already downing myself as my mind filled with doubts. "Otherwise I'm… dead, right?"

The three girls slowed as they thought about what would actually happen to me if I died here. I was surprised in myself, having not thought about it properly, and it seemed they had no more of an idea than I did.

"Well, when I fell into the water at the ruins, was I alive when you pulled me out?" I asked, thinking back to the terrifying moment when I made a stupid decision to try and end everything with barely any thought at all.

"Just barely," Paine answered simply. "But yeah, you were breathing."

"Than I wonder," I muttered, scared at the thought that it could all end so easily, but Yuna shook her head with determination.

"We won't let it happen," she said. "We'll keep an eye on you, okay?"

I sighed and felt guilt grasping me in its tight hold. "I should be the one protecting all of you. After all this is my mess…"

"And we're helping you clean it up," Rikku added enthusiastically. "So no complaining, okay? It's our choice to help you out, so if we get hurt, than that's that."

I knew that there was no getting around without agreeing, so I mumbled, "Okay," wanting to move on, but Paine caught my elbow.

"Don't feel bad for all of this, okay? Like we've being trying to get through to you, you weren't in this alone. Our help has been offered on our own decision, so don't you go keeping us in the dark again and put yourself in danger. We can handle ourselves, but it's up to you to keep yourself alive."

Her words left me in a moment of shock as I realised that for all of my life I had been determined to get hep from everyone else without asking, only expecting. Perhaps that was the strain that I put on my best friend that had forced her to sever our friendship. But she had made me realise that it was up to me to help myself, and if I needed them, they would always be there.

"Thank you, Paine," I gasped, barely able to control my tears as I found the path where I had stumbled and broke everything apart.

The concern on the faces of my friends was unnerving, but I shook away their comforting touches. I didn't need to revel in the thoughts that I was cared for anymore, nor did I need to bend over backwards emotionally to await the proof. It seemed that this world was teaching me after all, and all I needed to do was let the knowledge in and accept it, which was something I had always had trouble with in the past.

"You are way too emotional," Paine said not unkindly. "Although I guess when you're learning things like this, it can get a little daunting."

For a moment I was shocked, but then I had already assumed earlier that she was helping me through this. Of course she knew of what I was trying to teach myself, and I was grateful for her help the most.

My burst of feelings that almost comsumed me completely was brought to a halt as an orb of ice fluttered around Rikku weakly before bursting into light so suddenly that I jumped back.

"This moment sure is touching and all, but it looks like the fiends don't have the heart to care," she muttered, pointing her staff ahead and unleashing the spell 'ice'. It appeared in an icicle that hovered in the air before crashing down on a mangy brown wolf.

"Whoa!" Paine exclaimed, her muscles ripping and the fur standing up on her back as she snarled like the animal she had assumed. "I've never failed to smell an animal before! I need more practice with this damn thing!"

"Well you do seem more of the knight type than the smelly berserker type," Yuna pointed out as she stood well back and prepared to cats spells of healing.

Paine gave a laugh that sounded more like a throaty growl. "That had better be a compliment." She didn't wait for a reply as she raced off towards the animal, sand flying up from her clawed feet.

Energy flowed through me, stronger than it had been before as though the dress sphere was begging me to attack. The power needed to be unlseahsed, so I ran after Paine in time to see her and the fiend collide with a sickening crack.

I froze in the spot, my mouth hanging open as both Paine and the wolf lay still in the sand. "Paine!? Paine!"

For a moment neither moved and the sand flowed over them steadily, unable to understand the fear that choked me. I stumbled towards the pair, taking fast, shaky steps, whispering Paine's name.

With a grumble, one of the two beasts replied and I leapt back with my sword at the ready, my eyes refusing to leave the wolf. Anger coursed through me as I stared at the broken form of my friend, and I shouted out for Yuna… only to have a pair of crimson eyes glaring at me.

"Do you really think I'm going to go down like that?" Paine asked as se gathered herself and slowly got up to stand awkwardly on all four paws. "Lucky thing I managed to break it's neck straight away. That one was a little bigger than I thought at first."

"Paine, you're okay?" I gasped. "But you hit it so hard."

The former warrior chuckled. "Another thing, Rachael. Our dress spheres have status, like health and protection. Both of those stats are high for me in this dress sphere, but my strength is the greatest. Therefore, something like that doesn't stand a chance at taking me down."

I could remember the status affects of the dress spheres now. They came like a picture into my mind, reflected from the screen as I scanned through, looking for the best one. I tried to remember how well mine would serve when Rikku cried out and a torrent of water gushed nearby, droplets cooling my burning skin.

There were more of the sandy wolves around us. They seemed to have leapt out of the sand, appearing so suddenly that I had no hope of guarding against the first attack. One of the three beasts tore through the sand and knocked into my hard, crashing against my ribs and leaving us sailing across the sandy floor. It's teeth grasped my arm tightly and with a cry I felt it crush down into the bone.

"Rachael!" YRP shouted in unison, each acting immediately. Paine dove at the wolf and the pair started to wrestle on the ground beside me as Rikku casts spells to keep the other pack members well away.

Tears welled un my eyes as the pain in my arm flared through the entire limb. The wound looked so gruesome that I could no longer look. The blood flowing down into the wand was bad enough to behold, but despite the horror of the attack, my eyes brightened as I saw Yuna running towards me.

"Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling beside me and beginning to heal the wound before I could answer her. She lifted her rod, uttered the simple command 'heal' and ran it over my arm close enough to make the skin prickle. A moment later and the wound was completely gone, and I felt healthy enough to take revenge on the wolf.

Seeing the hunger in my eyes, Yuna backed away, but not without warning me. "Be careful."

I nodded without really thinking about what she had said, and rushed at the wolf that Paine was having trouble with. I decided to take the load out of her hand, literally. I dove at the beast and snatched ut away from her, sliding over the ground with it beneath my heels before I ended it with my sword. The tip skewered easily though the flesh of the wolf and it stilled immediately, leaving me to relish in my first victory.

Paine looked a little enraged, and had it been Rikku or Yuna who had taken her kill she would have lost it, but seeing as I had never had the opportunity before she let me go off easily. "Good work for a first kill. You didn't even get hurt the second time."

I was never one to gloat, so I simply shrugged and turned to the remaining wolf that had managed to escape death from Rikku's constant assault of magic. It was savage from the death of its friends and lunged at me with its teeth bared and a growl twisting on its lips.

I knew I had gone too far when I felt an unbelievable energy flowing into me. It was more than that of the warrior's dress sphere, for this energy was pulsing with life as though I had been possessed and held inside of me a living beast.

"Rachael, what the hell are you doing?"

I coulnd't even see Paine as I heard her yelling to me. It was too late. I had dove into the stream of my power and couldn't turn back. The only problem was that I fely myself lsipping away, and before I could even attack, I fell backwards into the sand and lay as the light disappeared slowly around me.

The next thing I knew, my cheek was stinging and I opened my heavy eyes to see a worried Paine with her hand positioned to slap me again.

"Paine, don't! She's awake!" Yuna cried, grasping her wrist and pulling her hand back down.

"You okay there?" Rikku asked. "If you can't control this power, you shouldn't use it so easily."

I was too confused to ask what they were talking about. With a tired aching body protesting, I pulled myself up to face them. "What happened?" I mumbled in a thick voice. "Did I faint?"

"Yeah, you dropped like a stone," Paine said, standing up straight and loking around to be sure they were safe. "Lucky thing we managed to finish the wolf off before it could take off your head."

I could barely believe it. "I didn't even try to use the power. It just… happened." I knew it sounded pathetic, but it was true, and I was terrified.

Neither of us had an answer to the power that lurked inside of me, but it was decided that if I couldn't handle it, than we needed to find the siblings immediately and figure out how to harness it before something more life threatening happened to me.

"Come on, let's move it," Paine decided firmly. "I'm getting tired of playing in the sand anyway."

As we moved through the desert I was barely aware of anything at all, nor the heat or the worried eyes of my companions. The power wasn't there to protect me at all, I knew it for sure now. I could feel it swirling inside like a sea of death.

It was meant to harm.

_Author's Note: The final chapter is well on it's way!_


	10. Desert Hideout

**Chapter Ten: Desert Hideout**

I couldn't concentrate properly after the battle. My power was swirling beneath the skin, waiting to rise again. I was worried that the smallest thing would make it come to life, but I had my confidence from my friends and stayed with them.

It had been hours, and every now and then more fiends would attack. I was careful with how much energy I put into my fighting, and managed to keep the powerful flow in me down to a small portion. Still, it was visible to the others when a bright red light appeared around me and the monsters stayed well away from me.

I was feeling guilty not being able to fight to my utmost ability. Fortunately as they had been telling me, they were fantastic fighters and also managed to keep an eye out for me whilst covering their own tails. The feeling was great as I did not expect them to aid me or put myself at risk waiting. We all worked together and made it out okay, but surviving the heat and constant walking through the desert was straining on all of us, and I didn't know how much longer we would last.

Finally we found the light at the end of the tunnel. Ruins rose before us as though blooming from the ground and rising as pillars coated in sand. They had been there for many years judging by the cracks that lined every sand coloured brick. It was an ugly assortment, most of the structure merely rubble at the ground. There seemed to be barely any roof covering the rooms, but we decided that it would only make things easier.

We approached with caution, knowing that the siblings could very well be inside. Our hands gripped our weapons and we approached slowly, Paine taking the lead with me in the middle with Yuna. Rikku had her magic already tingling at her fingers as we pushed open the door, and once we entered our guards lowered a little as we started to realise that the place was well and truly deserted. There was no a single sound, only the howling wind as it entered through hidden cracks and holes.

Our feet echoed on the long stone floor, only ceasing as we stopped to check a room. All of them were deserted, the floor coated in sand and the walls coming down. As we explored further, I started to realise that I recognised everything here… but from where?

The ruins were cooling us down rapidly as we kept to the shadows out of the burning sunlight, and in the peaceful place void of enemies we hydrated with our water and prepared our sphere grids incase the pair were here after all.

"Well this is the last room," Paine muttered as we reached the end of the final hallway, facing a steel door. "What a waste of time this was." It was true, as so far there had been nothing at all, but something stirred in me again…

I stared at the door, my heart seeming to beg me to remember, but I still could not realise what. Paine opened the door, wincing as it scraped alone the ground in an ear piercing squeal. I gasped as I saw the interior and immediately I could recognise the area and I knew where the memory came from.

"The sphere!" I gasped, stepping into the same room the siblings had been in during their recording. "This is where they were when they recorded, remember?"

Everyone stepped in after me, staring at the walls and the boxes, realising that I was right. It felt unreal, standing in the place where the pair had sat; revealing information that they wouldn't have wanted my ears to hear. A smile spread across my face as I realised that my enemies indeed made mistakes, and it gave me the courage I had been beginning to lack.

"Finally, something interesting," Paine muttered as she paced the room. "But what exactly does it matter now? Obviously they've moved on."

I thought for a moment as more questions raged in my head. "I wonder…" I mumbled mostly to myself as I tried to wrestle down a single question. "Why are they running?"

"Running?" Yuna echoed.

I pressed a thumb to my chin. "Why would they be out here in the middle of the desert on their own? Surely they belong somewhere? Where are they from?"

Yuna sat down beside me with her weary legs. "It is a good place to hide and communicate with this 'boss' of theirs."

"That's true, but of all the places…"

Rikku was sitting cross legged on the ground, completely still as she tried to cool down, but as Yuna and I discussed the matter of the siblings in such a place she suddenly sat up straight and stared across at us with hunger in her eyes.

"Yunie, do you still have the sphere with you?" she asked hurriedly, on her feet before the gunner could even reach for it in her bag. She quickly watched the sphere, and as she did so a smile played on her lips. "I knew it…"

"Knew what?" Paine asked as she leaned against a wall, her usual poise. "Is the sun getting to you, Rikku, or is it just your usual nutcase disease spiking up again?"

The thief ignored her and pulled the sphere away, jumping up and down excitedly, shouting, "I have a new piece to the puzzle!"

"What is it?" I asked excitedly, leaping to my feet and grasping her wrists to stop her before she dizzied herself. "What have you figured out?"

She grinned so widely it almost blinded me with her shining teeth. "They're part of a clan! And I know which one too!"

"Clan?" I echoed, staring at her in confusion. "There are clans out here?"

She nodded and counted them off of her fingers. "There are the Desert Wanderers, the Sand Devils, and the Bikanel Thieves. Clans out here are illegal, of course, as they are always up to no good, but none more than the Bikanel Thieves, and that is where those little brats are from!"

I hugged her in all of my thankfulness. "But how did you find that out?" I asked as I held her in my excited embrace.

She released me with a giggle and tapped a finger to the sphere. "They both have little tattoos on their wrists. They're tiny and usually only Al-bhed can see them because we know what to look for."

"So what do the Bikanel Thieves do exactly?" Yuna asked, grasping the sphere and returning it to her bag. She did seem awfully protective of her spheres.

As Rikku answered the question, she could not hide her anger at the group. "They're savages, really. They scour through the sands all over Bikanel with stolen equipment that they manage to get their hands on. They take whatever they please, some things being crucial to further development for the Al-bhed. They have really made some enemies in the past, so maybe these two kids got a bit sick of being hated and hunted down, and wanted to get out."

"So they're hiding from their clan?" I asked, trying to fit everything together.

Rikku nodded. "But not just because of that reason. Their boss must have come from the same clan, because the clan hates magic, so they would be banished just for that. The boss must still be under the radar, because that would explain the two exiles choosing to stay in the desert." She spoke so fast that we all had a little trouble understanding.

Paine ambled over and tried to make sense of it all. "So these two kids are clan members and have been kicked out because they possess magical abilities."

I continued on as she left the story open to me. "Their mentioned boss is also there in the clan, but he hasn't been figured out for being tied in with the pair, so they stay in the desert close enough to contact him. That about right, Rikku?"

She nodded. "Exactly!"

"Wow," Paine muttered. "That's quiet a large chunk you've worked out there."

Rikku smiled. "Well I have lived in this desert for most of my life, remember? These things are pretty easy to piece together for me!"

I was so giddy that I could barely stand still. I wanted to shout out to the world that we finally had another lead, and now we knew where to head… but there was still more I did not know.

"Where do you think they got these powers from?" I asked, staring at Rikku. "Is there some sort of source out here in the desert?"

She snorted. "Why does everyone expect some prophecy or something hidden out here?"

"Well it would be the perfect place to hide something like that," Paine pointed out, her arms crossed in all seriousness.

Rikku shrugged. "So? Trust me, this place is just sand, ruins, and clans, nothing more."

"What about the cacti?" Paine added, trying desperately to prove Rikku wrong.

"Well, them too I guess, but that's all."

"Sure about that?"

"Yes! Stop trying to make Bikanel out as some sort of conspiracy!"

"Aww, you love your little sand pit, don't you Rikku."

"Don't call it a sandpit!"

I wanted to laugh at their argument, but my mind was on the clan the siblings were most probably from. If we were wrong, we could be putting our lives in danger stepping into the land we were forbidden from as outsiders… but we had to try.

"So I guess were off to the Desert Thieves Clan," Yuna decided, already fiddling with her spheres. "That means we are going to have to be very careful."

Rikku nodded, her smile fading away immediately. "They are really dangerous, so make sure you're all prepared and equipped. We'll have to sneak in, but if we get caught, I'm not sure how well we're going to be able to do in a fight. The clans fight savagely, and all as one as well. We'll be caught fighting the entire place if we take a wrong step."

Almost as though he could sense something was wrong, Brother's voice called out from Yuna's pocket. We all whirled around to stare at her as she sheepishly pulled out her communicator and answered. As soon as he heard her voice, Brother cried out in happiness.

"Yuna! My dear Yuna! I have been so worried about you! You haven't been hurt out there, have you? Tell me, and I'll pick you up right away!"

Frustrated at the lack of concern from her bother, Rikku snatched away the device and screamed into it. "What about me, your sister?! What if I'm hurt?!"

"Put Yuna back on! I want to hear her voice…"

"Go to hell, Brother!"

"Don't you speak to your leader like that!"

The argument was getting heated, but thankfully Paine had had enough and took the device off of a roaring Rikku.

"We're going to the Desert Thieves Clan. Ask Buddy where they are."

Brother gasped loudly into the device and groaned. "You can't send my love down there! They'll kill her!"

Rolling her eyes, Paine took a deep breath before unleashing it in a savage yell. "GET OVER HER AND PUT BUDDY ON!"

For the first time, Brother did not argue. Immediately, Buddy's voice appeared. He laughed into the device, then calmed with a snort. "What's up Paine?"

"The Desert Thieves Clan. Where is it?" she asked, getting right to the point.

There was a sharp intake of breath. "You sure about this? I don't doubt you girls, but it's a pretty dangerous plan."

"Well you can't exactly pick us up seeing as the ship can't take all of that heat, so I guess we are serious, Buddy. Where is it?"

Seeing that there was no changing the warrior's mind, Buddy sent her the coordinates on a small digital map that she had attached to her belt, then she hung up immediately as he started to give her another lecture.

"Well now that you've deafened my brother and received the coordinates, everything is fine!" Rikku piped up, studying the area the clan was located. "I know this place as well. It's pretty well hidden in the side of a cliff wall, but we should be okay."

"Should be?" I echoed, staring at her fearfully.

She shrugged. "That's what we usually go on."

"Okay. 'Should be' it is."

*****

Well hidden seemed the perfect way to describe the ruins as we approached, apart from one thing.

The giant flying fiend standing guard in the entrance.

We hid behind a rock, lying low as the creature stuck its giant head into the entrance of the clan. It seemed to be trying to drag something out of the cavernous entrance.

"What's it doing?" I asked quietly, trying to peer out for a better look.

Rikku looked as white as a sheet. "Those fiends are meat eater and they only act like this when they're hungry."

"Meaning?"

She swallowed and lowered her head. "It's feasting."

The creature gave a great scream as it finally pulled out its desire and threw it out of the save, chasing after it's kill to sink it's teeth into the flesh. I almost fainted at the sight of the torn body, for it was _human._

Yuna said something, but her voice was lost to me as I tried to concentrate on staying conscious. She repeated it and I realised she was speaking to me. "Are you going to be alright?"

I understood what she meant by it. If the body was near the entrance than it was a guard, and if the guard was dead than the threat had made it inside. That meant there were much more bodies awaiting us.

I swallowed. "I-I think so…"

"We'll have to fight that thing as well," Paine said, speaking as though it were a chore. "How annoying."

The beast lifted its head from its meal for a moment as though hearing us as we spoke, then lowered to feast again. Its size was frightening, especially as it widened its wings to stretch out the bone. Black and brown feathers covered its body thickly, large yellow eyes peering out on its face and staring down its clawed beak to run over the area in a constant check for enemies.

"Freaking scary," I mumbled to myself, staring at my blade that was suddenly looking very thin in comparison to the beast.

Unfortunately for me, the other girls were ready to go, brimming with assurance that they could win.

"Ready when you are," Paine said simply. It was no surprise. She was always ready for a battle.

Rikku and Yuna gave firm nods, confirming that they were ready, and I only managed a meek whimper for a reply. Paine, however, took it as an 'ok' and raced off through the sand, the mages following with me lagging behind.

I wasn't sure which I was more afraid of as I approached the alerted beast: Being killed or unleashing my unknown powers. Maybe it was both that left me open for the first attack, because I didn't see it coming at all. The creature's thick coiling tail whipped out and slashed across my chest, winding me and knocking me to the ground, then it rose into the air and gave an almighty roar.

Pain was a burning grip around my ribs as I laid back and moaned. Thinking they were broken, I didn't dare move or touch them. Paine had other ideas though and yanked me up before I could be hit again. I was deposited roughly on the ground again and left to Yuna's healing as the berserker leapt up to grasp the beast around the neck.

My ribs stopped aching immediately as Yuna cast 'cure', but there was no time to thank her as both Paine and the screaming monster crashed to the ground in front of us, both grappling with each other and clawing at flesh. Blood spotted the sand and the berserker released the bird, left limping away to avoid another attack.

Shards of ice fell away before me as Rikku unleashed a spell of ice, then followed up with thunder. Freezing and sizzling all at once, the fiend came tumbling down again and I took my chance to attack.

I knew that I could do little before I reached my limit, so I started with a light attack. Lifting my sword, I brought at down at the birds neck, leaving a deep scratch and then being rewarded with a talon catching in on the arm. It stuck in the flesh for a moment and I howled in pain, grasping for it and using my free hand to hack away at the monster's face.

Finally my blade cut deep enough to cause a better amount of damage and blood ran freely into the sand. Shrieks came from the monster now instead or enraged cries, and I stumbled back, freed from its weakened grip.

Able to concentrate on things better, I realised that the power had been kept within me, but my arm was pulsing blood at a rate that made me feel sick. I turned away from the wound in disgust.

"Are you hurt?" Yuna had come running over and immediately began healing me. I felt terrible for having her waste her magic on me all of the time, and I said so.

She only laughed lightly. "It's okay. After all, that's why I have trained so much with this dress sphere. I want to protect my friends."

I smiled at the title she had included me in and raised my head to stare at the entrance of the clan that lay ahead of us. "You think you can heal anyone in there?" I asked. "Do you think any even survived whatever happened if their guard was dead?"

She paled at the thought of the massacre that may lie ahead and shuddered. "We can only hope."

The entrance of the Clan cavern was coated in thick blood, but only there. The further we stepped through we only found bodies, but no blood.

Bending down to examine the nearest body, Rikku clicked her tongue. "Scorch marks," she said as she ran her hand over the burned flesh. "These people were burned."

I stared down at the bodies, each of them wearing the same sandy coloured pants. The women wore matching tunics, whereas the men were all shirtless. I assumed it was for the heat and also the disguise out in the desert seeing at they were all a similar tanned colour to the sand. It interested me to find a group of Al-bhed that were not in the game, but nothing like this was in there either. None of these bodies littered about the place that looked so still and pale.

"You okay? You're looked a little green there."

I looked up to see Paine staring at me with an expressionless face. I opened my mouth to reply, but it only gave my last meal the opportunity to come up and I vomited on the stone floor. She immediately took my arm and pulled me to the side, sitting me down on a rock and ordering me not to look at the bodies as Yuna and Rikku went on ahead to make sure the way was clear.

I noticed how strong they were as though they were made of steel even around bodies. "How do you do it?" I asked Paine. "They look so… different in real life."

She stifled a laugh and looked back at the murdered men and women. "I've seen stuff like that in my past before on the Crimson Squad… but I guess you already know a little about that, huh?"

I thought for a moment that she was attacking me, but she smiled a little and I realised she was merely refusing to tell a tale that I already knew of and waste time. Instead we turned onto a surprising topic of earth.

"So what do you fight in your little world?" Paine asked. "What sort of fiends do you have?"

I thought about my answer carefully. "There aren't really any fiends, but we do have animals."

"Animals? Like those annoying chocobos?"

I laughed. "We have birds called canaries that are… kind of like chocobos. But they're small, like, not even the size of my fist."

Her eyebrows raised. "Why would they be so small. How would you ride them?"

Again I found myself laughing at the cold warrior and she looked a little offended. "We don't ride them! We keep them as pets."

"You're kidding. You keep animals as pets?"

"You do here as well, right?" I countered. "You have chocobo ranches, and moogles."

Now it was her turn to be amused. "Moogles aren't animals, for starters. They are an actual race, and as for chocobos being pets, they are merely for riding around. Only freaks like Rikku would keep them as pets."

"Oh… Well, we keep some other animals as pets as well sometimes, like tigers or bears."

She stared blankly.

"Big animals, sharp teeth and claws. Umm… they are pretty dangerous, like the things you fight."

"Really?" She was clearly getting interested, but conversations were still not her thing and she went silent. I was enjoying the talk though, so I persisted.

"There are other things both our worlds share as well," I said. "Like your Crimson Squad and Clans like this. We have groups that band together for different religious belief and races. They cause wars sometimes, though, and wide out those who don't share their views."

She stared at me. "Here a lot of people hate the Al-bhed, but we don't have our groups going around and slaughtering them. What sort of a place is your world?"

I sighed. "Its turning into a pretty bleak place…"

Rikku and Yuna were silent as they entered and it was surprising to them to see the roles reversed as me and Paine chattered on about the ways of my world. I became so immersed in explaining everything to her that I completely forgot about he bodies that lay only metres from me until I saw the stricken faces of my friends.

"No one got out of this alive, whatever it was," Yuna muttered, her hands shaking as she clutched them together.

"It was magic," Rikku announced. "Some of them were frozen, and others burnt by something other than fire. I saw traces of all four elements on the bodies further down, and that means one thing…"

"The siblings," I muttered miserably. "So they are here after all."

Paine rose to her feet, saying one last thing. "It seems there are some things our worlds share after all, Rachael," she said, turning to me with a grim face. "Bloodshed."


	11. Marelle and Kalin

**Chapter Eleven: Marelle and Kalin**

Further in the caverns I could see how right Rikku and Yuna had been about the different injuries on the bodies from the burns on the guards we had seen. Despite the changes, I felt the same sort of sick as I stared at the white, stilled forms that gazed without seeing. I wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Room after room we entered, and more and more bodies lay upon the rocky floor. It seemed they had headed down further into the clan cavern towards the end.

"It's as though they were pursuing something," I said as we followed a broken line of the dead clan members.

"Or running from something," Paine pointed out on the opposite side in both cases, stepping carelessly over the blood soaked rocks.

"Either way, it was probably the kids coming back through," Rikku said. "They may have come back for their boss."

"I guess that's all we have to go by seeing as there doesn't seem to be anyone to talk to about their whereabouts," I admitted."

"Look on the bright side," the Al-bhed said cheerily, having recently changed into her knight dress sphere to avoid feeling the blood beneath her feat. "We aren't in danger anymore."

That was true, but it didn't make me feel any better. A part of me wished these people were still alive even if it did put us at the point of their swords.

Our trail ended as we reached the ending of the cavern, a great opening that looked like some sort of stadium. We stared inside, all of us too cautioned to enter. It didn't help calm us as we spotted stains of red on the now sandy ground.

"What is this?" Yuna asked, peering inside. "They have seats built into the rock walls, and the ceiling is high enough for this place to hold hundreds of people."

Rikku nodded with a bleak expression. "Enough room for all of the clan and any unexpected newcomers."

"What do they do in here exactly?" I asked, already fearing the answer.

Paine laughed and rapped a fist the wall at the edge of the opening to hear it echo inside the giant room. "They slaughter each other, obviously. To them, it's a sport."

Rikku looked up at the warrior in surprise. "How did you know anything about these Al-bhed?"

A wry smile appeared on Paine's face. "I don't need to belong to the desert to know a killing stadium when I see one."

Somehow that did not surprise me, but even she did not enter despite the lifestyle she lived. She had, however, showed a slight sign of care in the cavern though as she had changed into the samurai dress sphere, saying that it made her more alert.

Rikku seemed comfortable being in her usual shoes, and Yuna had become a trainer, wishing to be with another companion that she said (rather sheepishly) she could cuddle through these disturbing scenes.

Now it was time for me to rethink my current status, and I dove into the light again as Yuna picked out the black mage sphere for me, saying that it might be easier for me to control myself if I used attacks that could be launched from a distance.

This power felt different. It crackled inside of me like electricity, but it did not beg for battle like the warrior. Instead it seemed to leave the decision of my actions up to me, accepting that I was the leader. Again she sense of the dress sphere having a personality shocked me, but I heard those words again: 'You'll get used to it.'

Now prepared for whatever lied ahead for us in the stadium, we stepped out onto the sands and like the movies I had watched back in my world, the gate shut behind us, leaving us to face our fate beneath the echoes of the ghostly crowds that lines the seats.

At first there was silence, not a breath, not a scream. Our eyes scanned the area, expecting something, _anything. _We could hear the soft call of the wind as it echoed through holes and cracks, and we could see the blood clearer now as it tainted the arena, but there were only shadows to torment us…

Then all hell was unleashed.

Fiend after fiend appeared as suddenly as they always had, leaping out of the unknown and wasting no time in charging at us. I was caught off guard and found myself being wrestled to the ground by a number of desert wolves, unable to lift my rod. I panicked, my hands weighed down beneath me. Icy cold washed over me as I felt the insecurities of being held down, but it gave me strength. I lifted myself, my arched back carrying the wolves, then with what little energy I still possessed under the weight, I lifted my rod and screamed out the first word that I could think of when I thought of magic.

"FIRE!"

As though the strength of the spell was trying to match the height of my decibel, flames roared to life in a great inferno, swirling around the beasts on top of me and burning them to ashes. I squirmed my way out, shaking the black remains away before they shifted to pyreflies and soared into the sky.

Behind me, Yuna was applauding in amazement at her break in the fiends. "I've never seen a fire spell that strong!" she gasped, pulling me over towards them as they grouped together to take on the rest of the fiends.

I shrugged. "Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing."

As more beasts appeared, the wolves seemed to evolve into greater canines twice the size, then to strange animal-like drakes, then they were dragons, all of them in a line reached back to the very walls.

"How is this happening?" Rikku cried out. "Who is summoning them?"

"Summoning?" Paine gasped. "What makes you think there's a power like that out there?"

Rikku shrugged. "How else are they all coming out like this?"

At the mention of a summoner, my eyes turned away from the threat before us and scanned for anyone upon the stands. They were all draped in a cloak of black that was too consuming to be mere shadow, so I uttered the word of fire again and directed it towards the stairs.

In an explosion of light, my spell connected with the rock with an astounding crack, loosing many of the seats and causing them come tumbling down to take out some of our enemies that lurked at the back, and there, huddling to the wall, was the girl.

"Marelle!"

At my scream, everyone turned to follow my gaze and gasped as they saw the girl standing tall and proud, her hand emitting the dark tendrils that wrapped around the seats and obscured our view of her. She started to laugh, but the sound was from the opposite side of the stadium now as she somehow managed to transport herself there to the light.

"How the hell?" Paine muttered. She turned to Yuna. "Do you know what sort of spells those are?"

With a paled face, Yuna shook her head. "They may be illegal. Any spells that have not been heard of are considered a threat to the public."

Seeming to hear our conversation way below, Marelle laughed even louder. "So they are. You are certainly knowledgeable about the works of magic indeed, summoner."

Yuna growled and clenched her teeth. "How did you know?"

Marelle rolled her eyes as though the explanation were obvious. "You think people don't recognise you? And that's not all. My brother can sense your past just by looking at you. That's how we knew all about you… Rachael."

My heart quickened as she turned her attention to me. "My past is only for me and my friends to know! No one delves into my head!"

Again the girl let out a piercing laugh as though all of this was amusing her. "He doesn't need to do anything so drastic. All he needs to do is concentrate on the emotional waves that emit from you. They pour out all over the place. That's why he felt so sorry for you when we first met, but Edravette taught him better."

"Edravette?" I echoed. "And who might that be?"

"You've mentioned him numerous times since you came in here," she said, shaking her head in disappointment. "I thought you would have learned his name sooner. We didn't leave that one sphere behind to lure you here, but it seems it's the only one you found. How disappointing."

Paine clenched her fists. "I hate being pulled into a trap!" she roared. "Now get down here you little shit! Playtimes over!"

"Sister, stop messing with them already. They're here, just like Edravette asked, so now we can do as we have been asked and contain them."

The second voice was male, and I recognised it immediately as the belonging to the boy. He stepped out of the magical shadows and joined his sister, staring down at me without the friendliness he had held when I had met him. "Long time no see, Rachael. It's a pity you took so long. We were hoping you would come here much faster with more knowledge of us, but it looks like you'll have to find out as we kill your friends."

I turned to face the my fellow Gullwings only to find them lying on the ground, grasping at the sand and staring at me with wide eyes, begging for help.

_They were suffocating!_

I bent down at Yuna's side as she was the closest to me and rolled her onto her back. Her hands immediately grasped my shirt in panic, clawing at my chest. I found myself chaining into the white mage dress sphere, then I began casting every spell I knew to help her: 'Cure, Esuna, Ether, and any others I found myself in possession of. Nothing worked.

Both of the siblings were laughing now, enjoying the show as they sat down on their seats and watched us contently like spectators enjoying a show.

"Seems like nothing's working," Marelle said smartly.

"Shut up!" I cried, tears welling up in my eyes as Yuna's face went purple. Rikku suddenly stopped moving and I rushed over to her, trying to find a pulse. It was weak, but she had no breath. I forced her to swallow a phoenix feather which was more like a glowing orb, then I turned a potion upside down and poured the contents into her mouth, but still she would not breathe.

"Stop it!" I screamed, glaring up at the pair. "They haven't done a thing! You want me, not them! Take me! Kill me! Just let them go!"

Paine and Yuna started gasping for air as it was forced back into them. Their faces immediately started to become coloured again, and on shaky hands, they pushed themselves off of the ground to sit up and stare around in disbelief. I turned to the pair, tears running down my face now. Had the siblings finally decided to listen?

"Now, now, Marelle, Kalin, you shouldn't hurt those not involved. It will only make matters worse."

It was a man's voice and we all looked up to see a lank form stepping through the waiting fiends, his hands stroking them as he passed through. He looked like a sage, having a white beard and well learned face, but lacking the years. His body, however, was thin and frail, and he looked as though he would break at any moment.

"Now look what you have done," he said calmly, pointing to Rikku's still motionless body. "One of them isn't breathing. You two are getting a little cocky with your powers I think."

I looked down at Rikku, my despair welling up inside of me again immediately after it had started to disappear. "Rikku?"

Paine almost leapt onto her form, pulling her up into her lap and giving her air, showing a side we had never seen before. She pressed on her heart, her face a furious mask as she tried her best to bring the innocent back, but it seemed nothing was working. She remained still under the warriors desperate attempts.

"Paine," I said slowly, reaching out for her arm. "I don't think there's anything you can do…"

She ignored me, lying her friend flat in the sand again and yelling down at her. "Don't you dare give up, you pain in the ass! You've put me through hell the moment I stepped onto that ship, so don't you dare just give up on me yet! Tell me about those stupid chocobos! drag me through the desert all day! steal my clothes! sneak into my room!! Anything! Just open your damn eyes!"

Her voice stole away the silence and we all watched her as her heart broke in front of us over her little friend… then something unexpected happen.

Rikku took a breath.

Yuna and I gasped and leaned forward as Paine's eyes shot straight to her friends face, waiting for her to breathe again, and a moment later she did. She took in a great lungful air and grasped out with her hands in shock. Paine took them in her own and sighed with relief.

"Rikku, you're okay."

Wondering how on earth the girl managed to come back from death just like that, I looked around for a source and was surprised to see the man holding out a hand in Rikku's direction, orbs of white light lingering at his fingers.

Seeing me staring at him, he gave me a warmed smile. "I never gave permission for any of you to be killed."

I did not understand what was going on. The siblings were out for my blood it seemed, readily killing one of my friends, but then this man who seemed to be their boss, Edravette, was acting so kindly towards me.

"What's going on?" I asked, my thoughts spilling out of my mouth without any control. "You're the evil one, so why are you helping us? I want answers, and I want them right now." I was on my feet, anger coursing through me and making every inch of me tingle.

Edravette's grin did not seem to fade at anything. "I do not think my intentions are what you think, Rachael. It seems my two students have you convinced that I am like them, but I assure you, they are the only ones after your blood."

I looked up at them to see their faces contorted by rage, but Edravette lifted a hand again and they were instantly unable to speak. They tried their best, but their words couldn't leave their throats.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, gripping him by the robe now an all my burning fury. "Why is all of this happening?"

He lightly pulled my hands away. "Their sinister ways are not any fault of theirs. It seemed when I passed on some of my magic to them, they become drunk on the power. I gave them too much for inexperience."

I could barely believe what I was hearing. Never had I heard of someone sharing magic in the Spira world. This man was more powerful than any enemy every faced, and staring at the shocked faces of Yuna, Paine and Rikku, they too were thinking the same thing.

As though reading our thoughts, he explained. "My power came from an old Al-bhed clan that lived many years ago. I found many different writings that they left behind, and then located the last piece in the ruins where you learnt of your prophecy," he said, his eyes sparkling as they connected with my own. "That was when I realised that in order to unlock the true magic that the clan left behind, I needed the last element: You."

Cold rushed through me, making me feel weak at the knees. "I'm an… element?"

"Flare, to be precise," he said, nodding to his hand as four orbs appeared, one red, one blue, the next yellow, and the last white. "As you can see, I possess the basic elements, only they are stronger and mixed to create my newer powers that no others have ever known of."

"And you need mine…" I finished, realising that all of this was just for a greedy man's lust for ultimate power. My hands clenched at my sides. "Well you can't have it, Edravette. I won't let you become a new threat of Spira."

A flash of surprise passed over the man's face. He turned and with a wave of his hand, the fiends he commanded disappeared. In their space grew a blooming light in the shape of a rose, then it became distorted and bloomed into a crimson gate in the shape of a petal. "If you pass over your flare element, you can pass through this gate and return to your home on Earth. You can forget about everything here, all of the hardship and pain…"

I stared into the gate, anticipation gnawing at me. Through there was my room, my house, my world. I could feel it reaching out to me, beckoning me, but then I turned and faced my friends, their faces longing and stricken. It was then when I realised something very important.

Turning to face Edravette again, I looked him down with my determination. "You say that I can leave behind all of the pain and sorrow if I leave, but clearly you don't know anything about me at all. The world that les before me is the one I have lived in for all my life, that's true, but it is also where my confusion and despair takes root. Here, I have the people I need, the _family _I need. Here, I am happy."

As soon as I had finished my speech, there was an unhuman roar above us and we all turned in unison to find the siblings tearing at their clothes and tripping against the chairs. They had no control over their limbs as they flailed around, their arms unintentionally breaking against the chairs with sickening cracks.

Edravette took a step closer to them, a light smile portraying his sick intentions. "Looks like they turned just in time."

I gaped at him, then up at Kalin and Marelle again. "What's happening to them?" I asked, unable to hide pity from their twisted faces of pain. Their eyes were begging as they slipped down the chairs, landing at odd angles and screaming in agony.

Edravette only laughed. "This is what happens when you use too much of the power. It is still not completely stable, so they must suffer the consequences.

Marelle's eyes rolled into her head as her hands clawed out, and she stilled with her limbs twisted and broken. Again reality hit me painfully hard and I had to turn away from her body to concentrate on Kalin as he struggled to speak to me.

I took a step towards him, but Paine grasped my arm. "Don't get near him. There isn't anything we can do to help them."

"But-"

"No."

I stared bleakly at the boy, the one who had treated me kindly when I had come here without the power winning over his mind as it had now. Unfortunately it looked hopeless as his eyes glazed over, but I managed to finally catch his words before he too was lost.

_Unleash the element._

Tingles raced down my spine as though the inner me knew exactly what to do, but my mind caused me to ignore my heart. Edravette stared at me closely and I thought that he would kill me before I could do a thing, but as his eyes turned to the others I realised that he hadn't been paying attention to the whispered words of the dying boy.

"So that's all they were," Yuna muttered as she looked over Marelle and Kalin in pity. "Empty shells to use at your disposal."

Edravette smiled, the sight no longer warm and inviting, but cold and unnerving. "They were quiet handy at bringing Rachael here, but in the end their sanity left them before I could do anything for them."

"Would you have?" Yuna asked, her voice bitter.

His smile turned into a laugh. "No."

She looked outraged and shook her head. "You disgust me."

Ignoring her words, he turned his shining eyes back to me. "Now, young lady, I believe that we have a deal to make. You're return to your home for your power."

I shook my head in disbelief, still trying to hide the fact that I was terrified without the knowledge of how to unlock my power. "Did you not hear me before? I said that I was happy here, and anyway, I wouldn't leave this world to deal with you in full power. So the answer is no. No way in hell."

His eyes flickered shut and his fists tightened. "Is that so… Well than, you can't blame me for doing this."

In an instant, something unbelievable happened. He lifted his hands, the pulsing magic appearing at his finger tips and swirling into back tendrils. They reached for my friends, twisting and stretching in the air towards them, but I wasn't going to let it happen. I leapt in front of them, my life with them and the last words spoken to me from Kalin spinning in my head until the attack hit me and I collapsed to the ground on my knees.

But there was no pain, no suffering, only… light.

I opened my eyes to find the brightness taking my sight. At first I thought I had died and awoken in the Farplane, but I realised that I could feel a hand on my shoulder pulling me back. I let them tug me back and pulled my head away from the light to see Yuna and Rikku at my side, both looking as surprised as I felt to be alive.

"You alright?" I heard Paine ask from behind me as she pulled me back gently another inch.

I nodded, trying to shield my view from the light. "I-I think so… but what is that?"

She paused for a moment. "I was hoping you could tell me."

Hearing her say that made my blood turn to ice and I forced myself to focus, looking past the bright burning white to see that a circular shape was spinning in the air. Embedded into its surface were the tendrils, withering away as the light transmitted from the object burnt at them.

"That's the power of flare?" Edravette yelled out, ending the magical attack with a wave of his hand and staring at me with a face twisted in anger and shock. "How dare you use it against me! I am much to powerful!

I stared again at the shielding object as it floated in the air, and realised what my element really was. "Protection," I muttered, taking a step towards the object and lifting it up into my hand. "I awakened it by protecting my friends. It's a shield."

Edravette growled in anger. "You can use the magic to create weapons? How is that possible!?"

"Simple. You have no one that you wish to protect."

I turned in surprise to see Marelle standing behind me now, Paine's sword pressed to her neck and Yuna and Rikku behind her, glaring at the girl.

"Marelle, how…?" I gasped out.

She smiled lightly. "He may have taken my brother, but I was always more accepting of the power. That is why I have more strength than him, but not for long. I only have a minute, so listen to me well."

Paine stared into my eyes as though begging me to ignore her, then her crimson orbs flickered to my shoulder and she shouted a warning. I turned to find a great ball of fire roaring towards me, but the shield I held rose into the air and expanded, throwing the magic away effortlessly.

I turned back to Marelle, every nerve in me burning in a mix of emotions. "Please, what do I have to do?"

Seeing my trust in the girl, Paine pulled her sword away a little reluctantly and Marelle stepped towards me. To my surprise she placed a hand on my shoulder, her fingers griping it tightly.

"Take my power," she said, her voice sounding a little weaker than a moment before. "I have also taken my brothers, so use them both. It should be enough to defeat him."

I nodded and gripped her arm lightly. "Thank you, Marelle. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

She shook her head, the coughed heavily into her free hand. "I am already dead, Rachael. I used up too much of my power, but it is all fresh in you. You can control it, I can feel it already."

I also could feel something, and it was both hot and cold, the temperatures changing rapidly as she spread her and her brother's powers into me. It was like a vein that filled with blood, only it felt strong, fast, _alive._

Once the transfer was complete she collapsed to her knees and let out deep breaths. "Be strong, Rachael. I know you will not fail out there… and I am sorry."

Sadness filled me as she fell flat onto the sand, her limbs sprawled out as she took her final breath. I felt so guilty and useless, but there was no time to bring myself down. I had a job to do.

Turning, I faced my enemy as he launched another assault of fire, followed by a shard of ice that looked strong enough to pierce the shield. Still the object stayed without a single dent as the spell exploded against it.

I smiled. "Edravette… It looks like I'm a little stronger now with the help of your mistreated puppets."

He was enraged, changing from the calm composed man to a spiteful monster in but a moment as he dove deeper into his abilities and summoned up a great torrent of water. It bubbled to life, rising from the ground and building up into a wave. I knew that it would consume my shield, myself, and my friends, so I trusted my heart for once, and leapt at it with all of my might.

_I really, really, really hope this works, _I thought with growing dread as I flew towards the great wall of water…


	12. Clash of Elements

**Chapter Twelve: Clash of Elements**

Beneath my force, the water was nothing. The wave fell at my touch, the waters sizzling as it shrank to merely fill the arena a foot deep. A laugh rang from my mouth as my enormous power surged through my veins and reached every part of me as though a light were growing on the inside. I felt like I could fly. I felt like I could break through stone. I felt like I could do anything.

Higher in the air I flew, never wanting to touch the ground again at the sheer amazement of being able to reach this height. Air tugged at my clothes and cooled my face. It was then that I realised I was hot, very hot. My limbs burned as though they were on fire, but there were no flames.

Beginning to worry, I let myself fall to the ground, landing on my feet precisely and staring down at myself. It was as though I had not activated a dress sphere, for that attire and line of abilities were gone. Instead I wore armoured plates that covered my body, each a glistening copper intricately designed with spiralling waves of colour. It was all absolutely weightless as I shrugged to feel the affect. Smiling, I raised my hands to the air, and in all of my surprise, a sword materialised at my hand, the grip falling into my fingers neatly.

In all of my pride and amazement in my power, Edravette caught the upper hand and unleashed a second torrent of water. It rose from the remaining water, building up to another wave, but as the first had failed, and he no longer stuck to the same plan. Instead of attacking me, he unleashed the water upon Yuna, Paine, and Rikku.

Screaming in fear, I took to the air again, my legs forcing me to fly straight for Edravette. With the tip of my sword reaching for his heart, I had thought my efforts would bring an end to him, but he turned with that malicious smile. "Not that easily."

Lifting a hand, he repelled my attack. A force exploded from his fingers that knocked my sword and myself back, sending us flying through the air. I screamed out in anger as I heard the screams of my terror stricken friends, and I turned my head to see them cowering beneath the force that welled up before them, but I couldn't let them die…

I wouldn't.

"Not like this…" I said, my strength gathering as I turned myself in the air and changed courses towards the wall of water. I flew like a bullet, a wingless sight tearing through the air and fizzling the water as I passed over it. "Not like this, Edravette!" I screamed.

I brought myself head first into the new wave like the first and found myself passing through the water. It crashed towards the ground, towards my friends, but I slid to a stop before them and raised my sword in the air, facing the watery beast that yearend for all of us.

"You will not take them!"

My words summoned up more power within me and it burned to life, rising from a dwindling flame to a great pillar of light. _Flare, my power. My element._

I witnessed my true capability as the light erupted from my sword, forming a shield much larger and thicker than the first. Water crashed into it, leaking over the sides only to be lost as they approached me. The shield held off the heart of the water with ease, but Edravette was not going to give up like that.

With a wave of his hand, he could make wonders happen, dark wonders that would put an end to me if I wasn't strong and ready. He rose his palm up, growling in the frustrations of battle as he realised he had not scratched a single one of us. However, he always had a trick up his sleeve, and as he summoned up another burst of magic, the wave turned and twisted until it was no longer a wave, but a screaming beast of rock.

My eyes widened in disbelief at the transformation that took place before me. He had changed the element so quickly, and I wasn't anticipating a placid wall of water to become a thick, heavy rock fiend. It sheer enormity was enough to have me filling up with doubts.

"Rachael."

I listened as Paine approached, standing beside me. She stood by my side but without her sword drawn. She knew that she didn't stand a chance, that I was the only hope. But her words gave me the strength I needed.

"Don't forget everything you have learned here," she said to me in a deadly calm voice. "All of the faults you have realised, all of the torments you have faced… it's all about power and your yearning to control. Right now, you need that more than anything. You need to control the power you hold, and you will find the light."

"Power…" I muttered, staring at the ground as he rock beast struggled to come to terms with its heaviness in this world. "I've been tyring to control everyone and what the do… my best friend…"

Paine nodded and gripped my wrist to gather my attention. "You see this beast? Edravette has put most of his strength in it. It can barely lift it's head due to the weight it is. He has put too much in this beast, and therefore cannot control his emotions to crush you. You can't follow that path again like you have been. You need to wrestle down this new power that has been given to you as a gift, and beat Edravette through control. He will falter where you will prevail."

Her eyes were shining as I turned to them, and to my deeper surprise, she was smiling. I couldn't believe how much she had taught me about myself and my power. "I don't know how to thank you," I said weakly.

Her smile widened. "Save our asses. That might work."

Despite the looming creature that had regained itself and prepared to strike, I laughed moments before I was forced to leap in front of her and conjure another shield that protected my Gullwing friends and myself. Then it was in the air again, sword outstretched, eyes searching for a weak spot.

There.

It's head was small compared to the rest of it's massive body, again the proportions ruined so it could fight with sheer strength. Therefore, the head would fall easily… right? I was counting on it.

I passed some metres above it's tiny eyes, flipped myself mid jump as it pounded at my weakening shield, then put all of my force into my sword as I dropped down at it's head. The tip of my blade tore into the rock and shoved it deep into its body with a serious of bone shuddering crunches, and I rested on its shoulder as it fell, facing Edravette. I didn't use my power more than what was needed, and that was something the man could not seem to understand.

"You fool," he rasped, the years of his life seeming to ripen as he used more and more of his strength, but no, that wasn't it. He was changing, that was for sure, but not in the way age demanded completely. His limbs were lengthening and he was adding on muscle and changing to a deeper colour. "I am turning, and soon you will be no more."

I realised then that I fate must be the same if I dove too deep into my powers. I would not let myself become a monster like him, so I waited for his next attack without throwing myself into his destruction.

As he saw me standing his ground, he let out a laugh that did not lack nervousness completely. "You really want to stand against me further? How I long for your element, Rachael, especially now that Marelle has enhanced it… That girl, I knew she would come in handy at some point."

I bit my lip in anger. "How can you think like that? She was trying to help you, and you treat her like a puppet!"

"She _was _a puppet!" he roared. "She was going to be used from the beginning!"

"Maybe so, but she is human," I said, crossing my arms impatiently. "Now I think I realise that there is another difference between us that is not just control."

He snorted. "And what is that?" he spat out.

I placed a hand to my chest, realising that this was all down to me. Spira and my own world depended on it. As I felt my breathing quicken, I glanced down at Paine, Yuna, and Rikku, all whom were nodding towards me to bring this to an end.

I turned back o Edravette and graced him with my answer. "Where you lack it, I have it here inside of me. I have a heart, Edravette, and you are completely heartless."

I had hit a nerve. He snapped, and it was a physical sight as well. His body jerked and the orbs around him exploded into the light of the elements he possessed. It was almost blinding, and I knew this was it. He had gone too far because his emotions and his control ruled him, and this was the last step until the end of either him of me.

As the surrounding auras fell away from him, his true form was visible, and it was a frightening sight. Each part of him was the colour of a different element, the shape of a shard of ice, or a burning flame. He was so twisted and distorted with the different parts of him that he was barely recognisable. Only his face remained the same, that sly grin still there as his yellowed eyes peered out of thick growing muscle.

"It's over girl."

"No… it's not."

This was it. I could feel it inside of me, the burning that did not belong to the power, but to my soul. It filled me, making me forget the calling urge to use all of my element. I felt at peace and strong enough to hold on without losing myself. I was going to end this, and I wasn't going to turn into a monster. I could now know it for sure.

"Face me!" Edravette roared, raising his elemental limbs into the air. He let out an inhuman howl, his tiny eyes slitting as his growing form rose to yet another size. "Face… me…"

I felt a little sad, seeing him suffer like this. It was only human after all to feel such an affect, but my purpose here could not be help. My feet left the ground, leaving me hovering for a moment to remind myself that this was all to protect them, the Gullwings and my two worlds. Heartened and with a lifted spirit, I kicked off of the air and sailed towards my enemy, my eyes burning with determination.

Never had I moved this fast, never had I felt my heart beat so hard, never had I experienced the feeling that everything was going to be okay…

I threw myself at Edravette, my sword out like a spike that yearned for his flesh. With a crunch of ice his frozen arm knocked me back, a layer shattering at my body and leaving shards to pierce into my flesh. We both reeled back in sudden pain as the shock of the quick attacks both faded and we felt the effects.

Blood flowed from my stomach where a line of small icicles jutted out. I gripped at them with sweaty hands, but they were stuck tight. Edravette, however, had not escaped without injury either. He clutched at his worn down arm with the one of rock and cursed at me.

"Sorry, but this is the only way now," I said, cutting at him again. This time I wedged my blade into the protective rocky limb. Sparks erupted around us as he tried to throw me away from him, but my blade stuck fast. I pressed down harder, aiming to break through the arm, but something sharp and equally hard gripped me by the neck.

His icy fingers ripped through the skin on my neck and warm blood dribbled down my shirt. Thankfully the cold numbed the pain and I had strength enough to kick him in the stomach and push myself free with my foot.

Airborne again, I flew low and swept over the ground, clutching at my neck as I realised I was losing too much blood. My sight was beginning to fade and my strength with it. Before I could stop properly and set my feet on the ground, my ability to fly could do no more for me and I fell to a tangled heap in the dirt.

Edravette was fast to land beside me with a rumbling crunch, but he did not end my life straight away. He stood over me in his bright hulking form, laughing and kicking me sharply in the side. "Looks like your number is up already. So early, too. How disappointing."

Although I was desperate and afraid, the feeling of hopeful destiny did not disappear. I still felt strong enough in heart and mind to end his beginning reign, but how when my life was seeping out of my torn throat.

"Cure!"

A blinding white light surrounded me and I welcomed the familiar feeling of my wounds disappearing. The pain fell away with it, soothing to become nothing.

"Thank you, Yuna," I said gratefully as I started to force myself up, but well aimed bullets took the fingers straight off of Edravette's icy arm. Only Yuna could shoot that well, and that meant…

"The name's Paine, and don't you forget it."

I looked up in surprise to see the gothic woman wearing one of her most hated dress spheres: The White Mage.

"You know, it suits you," I complimented carefully. "You should use it more often."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't push it. I just thought you could use the hand whilst those two cut away at him. After all, they are faster than me in battle."

I could barely believe what I was hearing from her. "You know Paine, I'm not the only one who's changed during this journey," I pointed out, smiling.

She didn't reply, but she didn't deny it either. I could see her eyes shimmering and her lips tilting up in the corners, but she was strong enough to remain like a wall.

Rikku joined the fight with Yuna, slicing away at the icy arm above the bullets, her grin every present as she severed the limb away. Yuna turned her aim to Edravette's head as he struck at Rikku, rendering him blind so she could escape.

"Sorry Rach!" she said as she turned her head to face me, backing away from the enraged monster. "But we were getting a little bored standing over there."

"We know we can't finish it off," Yuna added, still firing from her gun like crazy. "We just thought we might lend you a hand. That okay?"

I laughed and got to my feet again. "Of course it is, but you mind if I take over again? I owe him a rather decent job on his jugular after he almost took mine out."

Rikku pulled away and held her arm out for me to continue. "He's all yours, but we've got your back, right girls?"

"You bet!" Yuna cried, firing one last lucky shot into his left eye and ultimately blinding his left side.

"Always," Paine added, her rare smile present again. "Don't you forget it."

I couldn't. I never would. I would remember them no matter what happened, and if I needed it, I would call for their help. They would come everytime, and I wouldn't be alone.

"Let's do this, Edravette!" I cried out, my sword extended in my hand, the tip pointing straight at the beast. "Let's end everything!"

He bared his skewered teeth out of a listed mouth. "I have been ready for too long! COME!"

With rage pumping through me, I did just that. I came to him, my sword waving in front of me, my teeth clenched and my body open. If I died, so be it. If I lived, so be it. I was going to be the protector of my friends and worlds and he wouldn't stop me.

I crashed against his rock arm, my sword tearing through it as though it were nothing. His surprise was evident as he failed to stop me, and I slammed myself against his spiked torso, embedding myself on the spires as my sword stuck through his chest.

We both stood still, both bleeding to death as we were trapped against one another. The spikes over his body protruded from my back, but I didn't falter or fall. I pushed myself free, biting my lip as pain wracked through my body. Paine cast cure again and I started to feel the holes closing up, but Edravette wasn't finished either. He lurched froward and knocked me to the ground with his stubble rock arm.

I groaned as I felt my head connect with the earth. Another wound that needed to be healed, but there wasn't time. Edravette fell to his knees beside me and the flames that covered part of his body were pressed against me, burning at my skin. I rolled away from him, but stopped midway as I heard something clatter to the ground.

My sword.

I turned fast to find it lying before the monster, and a regenerated arm of the thinnest icy ley over it. He looked to be almost gone, bullet holes riddling his face, blood pouring from a gaping wound in his chest. His rock arm was practically gone, and his new arm was weak. It seemed I would have to destroy the head to defeat him, but how could I do that when I wasn't healing fast enough.

"It's over," Edravette said quietly, even his voice faltering. "You are drying, and not even your friends can help you now…"

"Is that right?" Rikku leapt in out of nowhere and struck the beast in the neck, his daggers piercing through the thick flesh… but not deep enough. A tiny drop of water trickled down onto his spiked chest and he laughed at her efforts. He lifted her with hic new icy claws and threw her away as though she were a rag doll.

I stared in horror as he turned towards her to finish her off, my sword now in his hand. A bullet tore though the air and shattered into his arm, then another spell of cure was cast on me. Still my wounds were too deep to heal fast enough though, and Rikku wasn't getting away fast enough… then something unbelievable happened.

Paine dove in the way of Rikku and stood between her and Edravette. She stared him in the eyes, knowing that she had no chance against him, but willing to be the shield that protected Rikku. I stared in shock as Edravette raised the sword, a pillar of flame rising to protect him from bullets. He was using the rest of his strength to stay standing, protect himself, and deliver thee final blow all at once, but I wouldn't let him win. I wouldn't fall like this and leave my friends to die trying to kill the monster. It had been up to me in the beginning. Destiny had chosen me, not Edravette or his puppets.

Now destiny was calling again.

I leapt to my feet, the last of my power already beginning to fade along with my life, but I stood strong as I faced Edravette. He would not break me and my destiny. It was all down to this moment, and as I turned to face a terrified Yuna and Rikku, and the brave Paine, I had my motivation.

With a final burst of speed, I launched at Edravette and gripped onto his back, feeling the sting of agony as protection of spires pierced into me. I tore at his head, using my armoured fists to crack against his skull until he turned and faced me, knocking me to the ground.

There I lay, blood spilling out of my new wounds and mixing with that of the old as I stared up at the face of my death. He lifted my sword above his head, point first, then with that sly smile that would be etched into my final memories, he stuck it through me.

I thought it was all over as the blade passed through my armour and flesh to rest deep in the ground. His face was just above mine, breathing putrid breath into my face as he snickered, "I win."

But he didn't. I had too much to lose.

I struck, using all of my strength to un-wedge the sword from myself and turn it beneath his stomach in my bloodied hands. I pierced it through his head, the hilt meeting his skin as the blade rose out of the skull like a triumphant hand. He gave a pant of air, stared into my eyes, and slipped to the side, taking my sword to the ground with him.

I had finished it, the ruin that faced the worlds and everyone I loved… but at a price. I was broken, lying on the ground with my life draining away. Amazing things flashed though my mind, things that I didn't expect.

I saw my best friend, my pets, my parents, my world, but none of the pain they held. The memories were all happy. I was smiling in everyone, and I smiled as my eyes began to close.

"Rachael!"

they reopened as I heard my name and I turned weakly to see the Gullwings rushing towards me. Rikku fell to my side, gripping my body in a gentle hug as she cried against me. "It can't end like this!"

Behind her, Paine had an arm around Yuna as she cried silently. They both looked so beautiful, fictional characters made real. It was unbelievable how amazing this world was, and what it had revealed for me. I had learnt so much from it, and them, my dear friends.

I rested a heavy arm on Rikku's back, wincing as I pressed her against my wounds. "Rikku… It's… okay…"

She shook her head and cried hared against me. "How can you say that? How can you die!?"

I smiled weakly, a tear running down the side of my face. "I'm so… sorry…"

"No!" She pulled herself away from me and turned to glare straight at Paine. "Heal her! Why aren't you healing her!?"

The warrior lowered her head, dropping the staff to the ground. "It's no use. Those wounds are too deep. Neither of us have strong enough magic."

"Then we'll heal her together!" Rikku screamed, already changing into the white mage dress sphere.

Yuna sighed and stepped forward, reaching into the light and grasping Rikku's hand as she appeared as a mage. "It won't work, Rikku... The magic of the white mage can't heal wounds like this. She's from a different world, so it won't work… I'm sorry."

I laughed, the sound rasped and struggled. "I wonder what will… happen to me. Will I go… to the Farplane, or… the afterlife of… my own world?"

"Don't say that!"

It was Paine this time who could not control herself. She fell at my side and lifted me up into her arms as though I weighed nothing. "I won't let this happen! It isn't right!"

"Where will we take her?" Yuna asked quickly, grasping Paine lightly on the arm. "Who can help her now?"

Paine bit her lip. "I-I don't know, but I have to get her back to the ship. We'll fly around until we find someone, damn it! We have to!"

I heard the tension in her voice and I could see Yuna as she glanced down at me worriedly, her hand falling to mu shoulder, but there was nothing more.

Everything faded away…

_Author's Note - The end is one chapter away now! YAY!!_


	13. Home

**Chapter Thirteen: Home**

Waking from a dream is sometimes something that you are thankful for. The lies and deceitful plays go away, and you can face the real world again, but when reality isn't where you want to be, the dream seems so much harder to let go of.

I was afraid that I waking from the dream. I was conscious of everything around me, the sheets beneath me, the burning light above me, and the sounds of talking voices. It sounded like my home, everything felt so familiar, and I felt my heart wrench. I had died in the world of my dreams, and had to wake back here in this hell.

I didn't want to face my harsh reality.

The voices began to fade and I was left on my own again, floating in darkness behind my lids but aware of everything. Slowly I let my eyes flutter open and I found myself floating in the nothingness that I felt around me. It was like a void of absolute nothingness and I cuddled myself against the fear that gnawed at me.

Then I heard a voice.

It was in the back of my head echoing out into the world and bouncing off of the invisible walls around me.

_What is it you really want?_

I was shocked to realised it was my own voice.

_ Do you really think you can change and become selfless after everything you have done in your own world? Do you really think you can start again?_

Was it a test? I wasn't sure. I answered from the heart.

"I've learnt so much. I'm sure I can do it." My voice trembled and I bit my lip, finding it awkward ti answer to my own conscience it seemed.

_Then which world do you think you can survive in? You could go back to your own and live with your new self and try to mend everything. You could be a better person, and earn back everything you lost._

There was a tugging inside of me as though an inner part of myself wanted me to go back to my old life. I wanted everything I had lost back, but I knew it would never be the same.

"I don't think I want to do that," I said sadly, staring down at my shaking hands. "I know so much about myself now and what I need to do to be a batter person, but there is still so much that I can find out, and these girl's are here for me every step of the way. I don't have to question allegiance and promises, nor do I have to watch my back and cry to myself."

For a moment there was silence and I worried that I had said the wrong thing, then the darkness began to fade and images appeared before me, each coming to life. I saw my school and remaining friends, then my house full of my family all celebrating together. Different parts of my life from my original world flashed past and I watched in awe as I realised how sad my life had been through the eyes of a selfish girl.

Once it had all passed, the voice came again.

_You will let yourself be forgotten in your world in exchange for Spira?_

I nodded, wiping away a wave of tears that had fallen without a sound. "Yes."

_There will be no retuning. Everyone will forget you on Earth. Are you still sure?_

I nodded again, my heart and mind both agreeing for once. "Yes."

_Than so be it. Your life will return and you will wake on board the Celsius._

My heart beat fast as I realised what had just been said. "Wait… I'm dead?"

The words echoed in the nothingness and no reply came. I was alone for a moment, fear gripping me tightly until I was released back into my beaten and bloodied body.

Voices however above me as I started to return to myself. My eyes were closed and I felt limp as I lay beneath strangled cries and a furious hand that tried to shake me awake.

"I'm sorry, Rikku. There isn't anything we can do. Her heart has stopped. The wound was too much for her."

It was Paine's voice. I tried to lift a hand, but it was too heavy.

I realised that the desperate hand was Rikku's. She let out a heart-shuddering sob and ran her hand down to my chest where she started to pound on it furiously. Whether it was an attempt to start my heart again or an act of fury, I had no idea, but I felt every numb punch as though through a haze of sleep.

I heard Yuna speak softly to her. "Rikku, Rikku, it's alright. Why don't you come out onto the bridge with me and get some air, okay?" The former summoner sounded close to tears herself, and I tried again to move. Unfortunately my body was still like a stone and wouldn't comply.

Rikku put up a struggle, her hands gripping my shirt. She started to slip away further and I presumed Paine was helping to shift her. Soon their footsteps began to fade away with the sobs, and I was alone.

Or so I thought…

Someone sat at the end of the bed, weighing down the mattress. A wamr hand gripped my wrist and coaxed my eeys to finally open. They were a blurry figure, staring down at me, and I had to blink a number of times before I realised who it was.

"P-Paine?" I croaked.

Her lips curled into a tiny smile. "In the flesh, kid."

"But I thought you were helping Rikku outside," I rasped, though it seemed like the beginning of pointless small talk.

"Brother took her out," she ecxplained. "He can be surprisingly gentle when he needs to be, as I have probably told you."

Her eyes were a little red, around the crimson pupils, and her pale face seemed whiter than usual. Her gothic features were strained and defined, and she had a hint of relief printed on her face. She was like I had never seen before. She was broken and overjoyed at the same time.

"What happened to me?" I asked, the most obvious question rushing out of my mouth without any thought required.

It was going to be a bit of a story, because Paine rearranged herself on the bed and stretched out her legs to touch the floor. "You died, basically," she said with as much simplicity. "The wound was too much. You had no pulse when we got you in here, and I had to scream at Bother to get the emergency kit about five times before he realised what was going on."

I suppressed a laugh despite myself. It was such a clear image in my head that it was a little amusing.

"We did everything we could to bring you back. Yuna even changed into a black mage and cast the lightest 'lightning' magic she could over your heart to start it again, but nothing worked. We thought you were gone for, but…"

"But?" I urged as she trailed off.

A sigh escaped her and she stared down at her hands as though embarrassed. "We thought we saw something… someone…"

I screwed up my eyes in confusion. "Who?"

"You…"

My heart contracted. "An… an alternate me? Here?"

"Beside this bed," she said, pointing to the spot. "It was just for a second, and you, well, _it _told us to hope, and then it was gone."

"Hope…" I echoed, the world seeming very meaningful to me now. It had got us all through the adventure we had been on, and it had landed me here for good it seemed. Perhaps their hope for my life had helped to pull me back, and not just the talk with my conscience.

"Any idea what it means?" Paine asked, glancing at the spot again as though afraid the presence would appear again.

I shook my head, deciding to bury the theory for now. "I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter. I came back."

Paine nodded and lifted her head up a little to stare out of the window behind my head absently. "I knew you would. That's why I stayed here. I knew you would wake up."

"You knew I would stay here in Spira as well?"

She nodded again, her eyes finally meeting them without the piercing stare. "I knew that the moment I saw you."

She was full of mysterious, this friend of mine, but I took her words for what they were.

"Well," she said, standing up from the bed as though the matter were over. "I should probably go and tell everyone else that you have miraculously come back to life, right? I don't think they would appreciate it much if I kept them in the dark about this one, huh?"

I let out a laugh as I pictured their faces. "Probably not."

We stepped out onto the deck, our footsteps silent as we spied Rikku crying in Yuna's arm at the Gullwing statue that stood at the edge of the ship. Brother, Buddy, and Shinra also stood there in complete silence through the mourning.

The wind was sharp and cold against me, and I wrapped my arms around myself. It was eerie, watching people in despair over your death when you are right there. Maybe a little shameless, but as I approached and cleared my throat, I realised I would never forget the joy of seeing their faces light up at the sight of me alive and well.

Rikku caught up to me first, tears streaming from her like her scarf as she threw herself into me and knocked me to the deck. It was painful, but I hugged her tightly with my swallon elbows as she cried into my neck.

Yuna looked dumbstruck as she approached, then happy, then angry… then she fainted into Paine's waiting arms. Brother was at her side, ignoring me as I had expected, but Buddy and Shinra helped to wrestle Rikku from me before she crushed my windpipe.

There were no words for me to say as I stood up and thought about how to explain everything. I tried to form words one, twice, and on the third time I failed again and gave up completely. Luckily, Paine had my back.

"Looks like Rachael is full of surprises, just like we thought," she said, approaching as Yuna was left in Brother's care. "I don't know how, but a greater force released her, and it looks like she's staying with us."

I smiled to the goth and nodded my head. "I have no idea how this worked out either, but it seems that the heart is a powerful thing on the inside," I said, pressing a hand over my chest. "Something inside of me released what I have eft behind and granted me the chance to start again here."

"Not start again."

I looked up in surprise to see Yuna stumbling over, still looking a little dzed, but shying out of Brother's 'helpful' hands well enough.

"I don't understand," I said, wondering if this meant that she didn't want me here.

"You weren't released to start again," she repeated, stepping up to me and taking one of my hands in her own. "You were released to continue your life here."

She was right. I had started all of this and saved the entire world, and now it was time to progress in myself with the people that could teach me. I stared at them all and each of their eyes held approval, even Brother's.

A tear slipped down my cheek. "You're right. This was only the beginning. I still have a lot to learn."

"And you will," Paine said, her fist held before her triumphantly. "It's time to learn explore Spira and learn about your new home. You ready for this?"

I didn't answer right away. I headed over to the side of the ship and peered down at the waiting world below that passed in a blue of vivid blue and green. My journey was over, and it was time to find a new one in the depths of Spira.

This world had chosen me as it's bearer of the prophecy, and had pulled in me to defeat it's threat. I wasn't mad, though. Everything that had happened had shaped me to the saviour I had become, and now it was safe… Now my new home was safe. But I was stay and be it's protector and learn everything I could about myself, always ready to defend it again.

I turned to my new family, the people I loved and trusted already. With a tear of happiness, something I thought I would never shed, I gave them the thumbs up. "I think I was born ready."

THE END

_Author's Note - That's it! Finished! Done! I really hope this story was enjoyed and I would love to thank __Dark-SideOfThe-Coin__ for all of your support and reviewing through my fanfic. If it wasn't for you, I am afraid I probably wouldn't have bothered with the rest of the story, so thank you for your honest and helpful feedback throughout the entire journey. I am also extremely glad that I have inspired you to continue writing two other stories. I love it when authors inspire me to write, and I never thought I would be able to have that effect on someone else __._

_ I really hope this fanfic came out well and I wish that it didn't end to fast for some readers. Sorry if it did, let me know. I have enjoyed writing this adventure, and I hope you have enjoyed reading it._

_ ShatteredHeart98_


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